Tyler Peterson, 37

Tyler Peterson has spent the past 16 years working in commercial real estate. In that time, he’s closed more than $400 million in deals involving brands like Walmart, First Watch, Panera Bread and PNC Banks.

But he got his start in the business without quite realizing it.

Photo by Mark Wemple

“Growing up as a kid, my dad and I would drive around our town and play a game of ‘what should go there,’” he says, referring to Brooksville.

“It was a small town, so we had a lot of vacancies and empty lots and we would just guess what business should be there.”

Interestingly, his father had nothing to do with real estate. He owned companies in the garbage business and later the mulch business, harvesting bail pine straw and selling it to big-box retailers. The what-should-go-there conversation, he says, was “just a random game we made up on day.”

“Little did I know it is what I'd do today.”

Today, Peterson is an executive vice president at Colliers. In that role, he is charged with working with clients looking for space. Some are national brands expanding their footprints and others are growing companies.

He says working with the latter is one of the most gratifying parts of the job.

“We get to watch the brand evolve from having zero locations in a market — and often times residents not even knowing the brand — to a household name spread throughout the entire market,” he says. “Watching them hire all the employees, and have successful businesses in these areas for years, is extremely rewarding.”

Working alongside him is Jim Kovacs, his mentor, who has worked at Colliers for 37 years. Peterson says working with Kovacs taught him much about the importance of loyalty, honesty and a respect for people, which is critical in commercial real estate.

That’s because of the nature of the high-stakes industry that relies so much on relationships. To get a deal done, he’s often in between two principals — the clients and the landlord — and needs to be trusted as the voice of the mediator.

But there is one more thing about commercial real estate Peterson likes, and it goes back to his drives with his dad. The business, especially retail and restaurants, is relatable.

“Friends and family," he says, “they are always curious what is opening in their neighborhood or sending me vacant buildings telling me what they need by their house.”