About Us
Our Story
We started Palladium Homes in 2005, after moving back to the Greenville area and deciding we wanted to build something together. With backgrounds in law, business, and construction, and experience running businesses of our own, starting one together felt natural. We began with a home office, a work truck, and a handful of trusted subcontractors, with Gregory doing much of the early work himself. As referrals turned into custom homes and renovations, the business grew. We chose the name Palladium Homes after the Palladium window, known for its beauty and light, because it represented the quality we wanted our name to stand for.
Over the years, we kept hearing the same frustrations from homeowners: poor communication, a lack of transparency, and promises that weren’t kept. We knew we wanted the Palladium Homes experience to feel different. We became intentional about how we communicate, how we run our projects, and how we hold ourselves and our subcontractors accountable. We believe in being open with our clients throughout the process and staying involved from start to finish. Getting to know the families we build for has always been one of our favorite parts of what we do.
Today, Palladium Homes is still very much family-owned and operated. Our daughter, Avery, is now part of the team, along with Bjorn, who married into our family. We work from a 110-year-old home we renovated on Main Street in Travelers Rest, where Jennifer’s family has roots going back generations. The way we think about home comes from our own family and the way we live in ours. It’s where everyone comes back to: where we gather for holidays and celebrations, welcome friends and family, and spend ordinary days together, too.
“When we build your home, we want to understand not only how you want it to look, but how you want to live in it.”
Jennifer & Gregory Arends
Founders
Our Team
Owner + Chief Executive Officer
With more than 20 years of experience in residential construction, Jennifer runs the business side of Palladium Homes and spends much of her time focused on the relationships and growth that keep the company moving forward. She loves hearing from clients throughout their projects and is constantly looking for ways Palladium Homes can make the building experience better.
Jennifer grew up learning the ins and outs of running a family business from her father and later worked alongside him and her two brothers. She earned a B.A. in Psychology and a Juris Doctorate before eventually carrying that entrepreneurial background into the family business she and Gregory built together.
Outside of Palladium Homes, Jennifer loves traveling, learning about other cultures, and staying active. She lives on 15 acres, where some of her favorite mornings start with a run or workout followed by coffee on the back porch, surrounded by the family’s horses, dogs, and cats.
Owner + Senior Project Manager
With more than 30 years of hands-on construction experience, Gregory oversees projects at Palladium Homes and works closely with homeowners and subcontractors from groundbreaking to final walkthrough. He’s a licensed South Carolina Residential Builder who takes pride in helping clients see their ideas come to life, and he values the relationships that grow along the way.
Gregory grew up in Aruba, where his career in construction began. After marrying, he moved to the Upstate and continued building homes before helping start Palladium Homes with his wife.
Away from the job site, Gregory enjoys going to the gym, morning walks, watching Gamecock football, and spending time with his wife and kids.
Project Manager + Estimator
Bjorn manages projects at Palladium Homes from the first estimate through the final walkthrough, overseeing budgets, schedules, subcontractors, and the day-to-day work on site. He holds a South Carolina Residential Builder’s License and enjoys watching a project come together, solving problems along the way, and making sure the finished home reflects what the client envisioned.
Originally from South Africa, Bjorn moved to the United States in 2017 and eventually made Greenville home with his wife, whose family has lived in the area for generations. He started with Palladium Homes doing hands-on finish work, then grew into his current role managing projects and estimating for the company.
Outside of work, Bjorn enjoys rugby, golf, a good braai, and, if you ask him, probably still working.
Chief Operating Officer + Director of Sales & Marketing
Avery brings both an operational and creative perspective to Palladium Homes, overseeing daily operations, sales, and marketing. She enjoys finding better ways to keep things running smoothly, building relationships with clients, and being part of the design process as each home comes together.
Born and raised in Travelers Rest, Avery grew up around her family’s company, where her early interest in leadership, business, and real estate took root. She spent three summers interning with the team while studying at the University of South Carolina’s Darla Moore School of Business, where she earned a degree in Real Estate and Business Management with a focus on Entrepreneurship. She joined Palladium Homes full time after graduating and is also a licensed real estate agent.
Outside of work, you can usually find Avery training for her next marathon, traveling somewhere new, cheering on the Gamecocks, or spending time with family and friends.
Our Promise
A home is one of the biggest decisions you’ll ever make, and trust is where it begins. We believe in being open about expectations, costs, and decisions throughout the process, including when the unexpected comes up.
We take pride in doing things the right way, including the details you’ll never see. We build with the goal of creating a home that feels just as beautiful and comfortable years from now as it does on move-in day.
Building a home has a lot of moving pieces, and we want you to feel like a part of the process. We personally check in with you along the way, while our client portal, Buildertrend, keeps updates, selections, and important details organized and easy to find.
Every home and every client is different, and we believe the experience should reflect that. We take the time to understand what matters to you and approach your home with the same thoughtfulness and care we would want for our own.
Let’s Build Together
