Real estate brokerage celebrates 40 years

Naples-based commercial real estate brokerage Investment Properties Corp. celebrates its 40th anniversary in business this year.

Founded in 1976 by John T. Conroy Jr., the area's first full-service commercial real estate firm started in a small red brick office building at 3400 U.S. 41 N. before evolving into an award-winning outfit that specializes in buyer and seller representation, site selection, leasing, exchanges, consulting and development services.

Conroy, who first came to Naples as a project general contractor in 1963, said the victories were small at first.

"I was able to convince the telephone company to give me a phone number to match my address: 261-3400," he said of the firm that's now independently owned and operated by principals Bill Gonnering, David Stevens, Craig Timmins and Clint Sherwood, a group that collectively boasts more than 100 years of market experience. "The firm still has the same number, and it can be seen on more than 100 'For Sale' and 'For Lease' signs throughout Collier and Lee counties."

Now at 3838 U.S. 41 N., Conroy said the physical move represented one of the more modest changes the firm has seen during its four decades in business.

"Interestingly, after 40 years in business, IPC's current office is just one-third of a mile from its original location," said Conroy, noting that Naples had just one-fifth of its current population when he founded the firm. "Obviously, the city was a completely different city than it is today. It was a dot on the map."

As Naples grew from a dot on the map to a world-class destination, Gonnering said, much of the firm's longevity could be credited to adjusting to changing market conditions through booms and busts.

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