Heidi Adams

In the years since Heidi Adams began to work with Jeff McFadden, managing partner for Taurus Southern Investments LLC in Winter Park, she has become acquainted with what she calls certain "McFaddenisms."

For example, when the subprime mortgage crisis began to peak at the end of last year, it became apparent the fallout would impact commercial real estate. The Taurus team began to debate the wisdom of breaking ground on a new project in Central Florida Research Park, but McFadden was resolute. They would proceed.

"On spec?" Adams asked.

"Heidi, building is what we do," McFadden replied.

And it's that kind of calculated risk-taking that makes commercial real estate a worthwhile career, said Adams.

"It's almost the uncertainty of the business that keeps it exciting," said Adams, who as director of leasing for Taurus Southern Investments LLC finds herself executing responsibilities far beyond her job title.

"All of our job responsibilities overlap. We run a very lean operation, and we're a very, very tight group of very team-oriented people. When we take on a project, we jump in, roll our sleeves up and say, 'What do we need to do,'" she said.

Adams and McFadden co-brokered $68 million in transactions in 2007, most notably the $50.4 million portfolio sale of Taurus Southern's four office buildings totaling 272,201sf at Central Florida Research Park in Orlando.

In addition, her leasing responsibilities include a portfolio of about 1.5 msf in Orlando and Jacksonville. She also markets prospective build-to-suit projects for Taurus.

Adams was named to the Orlando Business Journal's Forty Under 40 list last year and won a CoStar Power Broker Award as one of Orlando's top 10 office leasing brokers in 2006. She has written for and been quoted in numerous industry publications and is an active member in Central Florida's NAIOP and CCIM chapters. She is currently pursuing her own CCIM designation.

Ironically, Adams stumbled into her real estate career as a teenager.

"I got into the industry right out of high school. I graduated a year early and didn't know what I wanted to be when I grew up," she said. "I took a temporary position as a receptionist for a real estate developer, and I haven't looked back since."

The developer was Sencorp, a luxury homebuilder in the Heathrow area that also built resorts. While there, Adams completed the requirements for her real estate license at age 17 but had to wait for her 18th birthday to sit for the state exam.

"I just kind of fell into it. I guess something bigger than me was guiding me," she said. "Within 12 months I had been promoted to his executive assistant, got my license and it grew from there."

Adams went on to serve as a marketing and business development executive for developer Pizzuti and full-service firm Welsh Companies. She also became vice president of brokerage operations for Carter & Associates in Orlando.

Adams became affiliated with Taurus Southern Investments four years ago after having worked with Jeff McFadden's brother, Tom, at Pizzuti, Welsh and then Carter & Associates. When the opportunity arose to work with Jeff at Taurus, she was seven months pregnant with her first child. It wasn't the best time to give up a salary and go on straight commission, but that's what she did.

"It was a leap of faith - and probably the best thing I've ever done," Adams said.

Now Adams is an integral part of Taurus' Central Florida operation as the company continues to develop properties. Taurus recently broke ground on the new 62,500sf Discovery TechCenter II, Building One, Central Florida's first environmentally-friendly LEED-CS Gold office complex at 2600 Discovery Drive in the Central Florida Research Park.

In addition to her CCIM designation, Adams said one of her goals is to obtain the LEED Professional Accreditation.

"Right now, being LEED-certified is a buzzword. We're using it pretty heavily in our marketing. But over the next 10 years, I think the building code will evolve to incorporate sustainable components," she said.