Most Intriguing Islander
James K. Tiller named one of HHI's Most Intriguing Islanders
New development
is going to come – we can’t control that. What we can control is the
quality of that development.” – Jim Tiller
As any islander will tell you, Hilton Head is home to some of the most spectacular residential developments on the East Coast. Most of us credit sensitive, forward-thinking real estate executives for creating such communities, but that’s only partly correct. In fact, a tremendous amount of credit is due to the land planners whose extraordinary visions breathe life into the developments, facilities and public spaces that make our Lowcountry such a treasured national destination.
I’m talking about people like Jim Tiller.
A long-time island resident and president J.K. Tiller Associates, Inc., Tiller has been in the land-planning business for more than 30 years. So large is his contribution to Lowcountry development and revitalization that one wonders where South Carolina would be without him. Some of our region’s most sensitive, awe-inspiring designs owe their existence to this mild-mannered, unassuming former professor of Landscape Architecture. Like his mentor and close friend Charles Fraser, Tiller has helped to define Hilton Head Island in the eyes of developers, residents and all who come here.
“There are a lot of folks who have contributed to making the Lowcountry what it is today,” Tiller insists with characteristic modesty. “I consider myself extremely fortunate to have had the opportunity to work with so many talented developers, engineers and consultants on so many projects.”
It is true that no man is an island unto himself. In the development industry, however, it is also true that some men design better islands than others. On this point, Tiller’s track record and reputation belie his soft-spoken humility.
“Tiller’s creative talent is far and away his most valuable quality,” says land-use attorney Lewis J. Hammet, who has represented some of the largest developers in the county. “He possesses unique dedication and follow-through in creating land plans that are both functional and sensitive to nature. He saves the good things in the environment, which is not always true of people in development.”
Indeed, many of Tiller’s designs have garnered national recognition and awards from a wide variety of publications and organizations, including Urban Design Magazine, Golf Digest, Golf Week, the American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA), and the American Association of Nurserymen. Projects on which Tiller served as principal designer – either independently or as principal in another firm – include Windmill Harbour, Belfair, Colleton River, The College of Charleston, Spring Island, Kiawah Island, Dataw Island, Bloody Point, Coosaw Point, Woodbridge, The Citadel, Coligny Beach Park and dozens of others. His award-winning streetscapes and urban designs have also defined the character of Hilton Head Island, the City of Charleston and Lady’s Island.
“Tiller has a low key but professional style that is manifested in his genuine concern for the community,” says prominent civic leader Emmett McCracken. “Tiller’s accessibility, personal warmth, consistency and dependability” have also made him a valued member of numerous non-profit, community and governmental organizations.
“I try to give back to the community whenever I have the opportunity,” Tiller says. “But there are many, many others (on Hilton Head) who have given more. I am inspired by their contributions and search for ways to participate more meaningfully.”
Search though he may, it is difficult to imagine how one could give more than Jim Tiller has given. He Tiller is a Board Member of the Hilton Head Island Chamber of Commerce, the Beaufort 2010 Task Force, the Bluffton/Okatie Business Council, the Beaufort County Highway 278 Beautification Committee, the Highway 278 Corridor Review Board, the National Trust for Historic Preservation, the American Planning Association, and the Beaufort County Zoning Development Task Force. He served as Vice Chairman of the Hilton Head Island Land Bank Commission, and was a board member of the island chapter of Habitat for Humanity. Past President, Trustee and Executive Committee member of the South Carolina chapter of the ASLA, Tiller also served on the national ASLA Chapter Advisory Board and was a co-author of the National ASLA Leadership Handbook, still in use today.
“We try to provide more than land planning and landscape architectural services,” Tiller says of his team at J.K. Tiller Associates, Inc. “We work to ensure that every project is a success, for the developer, the greater community and the land. New development is going to come – we can’t control that,” he says, overlooking a number of large drawings, each as beautiful as they are complex, spread across his desk. “What we can control is the quality of that development.”
