Cynthia Shelton

Now a two-time honoree for Top Women in Florida Commercial Real Estate, Cynthia Shelton works as part of the Milano-Shelton Investment Team for Colliers Arnold Commercial Real Estate Services in Orlando. Her focus is selling investment properties, primarily shopping centers.

The team works in the Southeast United States with an emphasis on Florida and sold more than $55.5 million in investment sale transactions for 2007. In addition to Shelton's investment property expertise, she also provides consulting, property analysis and many services related to commercial real estate.

But for all of her success in the commercial realm, Shelton got her start on the residential side.

"Believe it or not, I moved from Tampa in 1975 to the Pacific Northwest - Vancouver, Washington. My husband worked for a company out of Portland, Ore. I had quit my job here, and I decided I would get into a career in real estate, starting in residential," she said.

The residential work didn't last long, however, as the realities of selling homes became apparent.

"After about five years in residential, I decided I didn't like selling houses on the weekends and sitting at dinner and getting a call to present an offer. I didn't have any time with family. I ended up deciding I was more of a numbers person," she said.

So Shelton went to work for a company handling both residential and commercial properties. She started work on her CCIM designation but kept dabbling in residential because of the referrals she was receiving.

"I stood on the fence and tried to do both. I don't think you can be any good when you do that," she said. "I moved from Washington state back to Florida and decided it was time to jump off the fence and move into commercial because I no longer had any referrals."

Shelton didn't make a dime for the first year, but she worked long hours and learned all she could about apartment properties.

Then things started to happen. Shelton earned her CCIM designation and went to work for the Allen Morris Company doing apartment property brokerage in Tampa. She started closing quite a few deals and then changed course to begin work doing site selection and property development for a fast food restaurant and, later, for KinderCare Learning Centers.

When KinderCare wanted her to move closer to the company headquarters in Alabama, Shelton took the opportunity to go back into commercial real estate brokerage with The Ross Realty Group in Tampa. Later came a stint of independent consulting work, followed by a period as vice president of acquisitions for Commercial Net Lease Realty in Orlando.

Over her 33-year real estate career, Shelton has worked with such well-known companies as Pier 1, Best Buy, Super Value, Michaels Crafts, Kinko's and Carmax. She says commercial real estate is a career that rewards excellence.

"We're a profession, but it's no different than a trade. You can learn to be a good auto mechanic, and everyone is going to want to come to you. You can be a great real estate person, whether it's residential or commercial. If you're the best you can be, people will want to work with you," she said.

"Part of real estate is we have so many facets that if one area starts slowing down, you can shift to another and continue to make a career."

Shelton recently earned her CRE designation from The Counselors of Real Estate. She has been active with many other industry groups, including the CCIM Institute, Greater Tampa Association of Realtors, ICSC and CREW. Shelton was appointed by Florida Gov. Jeb Bush to serve on the Florida Property Tax Reform Committee and will serve as 2009 president-elect of the Florida Association of Realtors.

In addition, she has been published in Real Estate Forum magazine and is working on her master's degree in real estate and development at the University of Denver.

Shelton said her partnership with Mike Milano, a managing director at Colliers Arnold, is beginning to bear fruit as she strives to learn the business of selling retail investment properties. The future, she said, will bring more of the same.

"I can see myself doing this for several years to come. Then maybe development again," she said. "I can't see myself retiring. People retire into real estate, not out of it. It's just a great career and a great long-term part of my life."