A Northwest Florida Niche

It could be said that J.R. Long and Stewart Proctor were destined to be in business together. Their connection can be traced back to their grand-fathers, who were also partners in various business ventures.

While the Long and Proctor families have been connected for generations, J.R. and Stewart’s ties didn’t fully strengthen until they began their careers in commercial real estate in the late 1990’s, whereby happenstance they shared the same office.

Both were hungry to learn all they could about commercial real estate, which led them to pursue CCIM educational courses in Atlanta, Birmingham and Orlando. During those car rides to and from Tallahassee, the two became friends who talked about goals and aspirations.

By the end of 2004, they opened their own company, Proctor & Long, LLC, a full-service commercial brokerage in their hometown of Tallahassee, operating from an office in Midtown, where they still operate today.

The pair worked well together, agreeing on values and visions. Even amid industry uncertainties, they’ve remained committed to their market and unwavering in client representation.

In 2010, they decided to merge with another partner to form a new company, Structure Commercial Real Estate and Management. For seven years, this partnership further solidified their reputable names in Tallahassee. However, when a buy-out opportunity presented itself, they returned to the partnership they began with.

Throughout this time, Proctor and Long were actively involved in the Florida CCIM chapter, a professional organization recognizing its members as experts in the disciplines of commercial and investment real estate. During these engagements, they met Ciminelli Real Estate Services principals Tom McGeachy and Hunter Swearingen, from Tampa, Florida.

1579 Summit Lake Drive is a 71,008-square-foot Class A office building
in east Tallahassee occupied by the State of Florida. Photo by Erich Martin

Ciminelli Real Estate Services is an industry-leading, full-service commercial real estate firm with over 23 million square feet of management and leasing assignments nationwide and over $500 million of capital markets transactions in Florida. The company has offices in Florida, New York, Pennsylvania and Massachusetts.

Having successfully worked together on property management and receivership projects in Tallahassee during the recession, Proctor and Long decided to partner with Ciminelli in 2020 to lead the Northwest Florida operations.

“We still operate with autonomy in our Tallahassee market because we know this region and we have name recognition, but partnering with Ciminelli has given us the support to be able to be the efficient, active, boots-on-the-ground team that we are,” said Proctor.

As a result of all marketing, HR and accounting services processed by the Ciminelli Tampa office, the seven-person Tallahassee team can focus on leasing, sales and the property management portfolio of 950,000 square feet of commercial space. Thriving in Tallahassee, Proctor and Long have set their sights on expanding their footprint west.

“Becoming a part of Ciminelli made sense because our company culture and goals aligned,” said Long. “We are all about building long-term relationships, serving our clients the best we can with honesty and growing our brand throughout the Panhandle.”

Ciminelli Real Estate Services

CiminelliFlorida.com  |  (850) 765-7063