Paul Connelly calls his wife “the velvet brick,” because she is soft but has a strong interior. As he says this, his wife, Ann, gives him the side-eye.
The power couple, as featured in the latest issue of Business Report, have been married for 40 years and together hold decades under their belt of building multiple businesses, expanding their real estate portfolio and pouring into the local creative community,
“I couldn’t have built this creative industry without the background of Paul’s help and our creative village,” Ann says. “And I know [Paul] feels the same way about me.”
Paul is the yin to Ann’s yang. While she prefers conceptualizing a project, Paul’s engineering and contracting background help transform Ann’s ideas into a reality.
Paul is the owner of Connelly Construction, which has made a name for itself through large-scale residential remodeling projects, while Ann is the force behind Ann Connelly Fine Art, which over the past three decades has developed an extensive clientele across the U.S. and abroad.
Paul and Ann began developing Studio Park, a 2.8-acre mixed-use shopping center, in 2015. Anchored by the Ann Connelly Fine Art gallery, Studio Park is a “creative village” that includes businesses such as Red Onion, Anne James Hair Salon, Tina Livingston Allstate Agency, Gourmet Girls, Future Fitness, Sherwin Williams, Martin’s Wine and Spirits, LRK Architects and Kenneth Brown Design.
Read the full feature from Business Report, and send comments to editor@businessreport.com.
