Loretta Cataldi (Photos courtesy Divaris Real Estate)
Stepping in to run one of the region’s commercial real estate brokerages is enough pressure on its own, but Loretta Cataldi faced another challenge with the timing of her new gig.
Cataldi, a longtime local retail broker, joined Virginia Beach-based Divaris Real Estate this spring as its principal and managing broker of the firm’s Richmond operations.
“My official start date was in mid-March. I started right when COVID started happening,” she said. “The biggest challenge was stepping in and having to get to know the brokers while working remotely.”
Cataldi has more than 20 years of experience in the industry, most recently working at The Shopping Center Group. She’s also had stints at Thalhimer, Colliers International and Madison Retail Group.
In addition to the Richmond and Virginia Beach offices, Divaris also operates in D.C., Northern Virginia and Charlotte, North Carolina. The Richmond office’s operation also covers Fredericksburg and parts of western Virginia.
After settling in, Cataldi said she’s now able to focus on some of the short-term goals like wrapping up deals that had been in the pipeline pre-COVID. Long term, she said she’d like to help diversify the sectors of commercial real estate Divaris is in.
“That would include office, industrial and maybe some multifamily,” Cataldi said. “We have a lot of agents in office and retail but I think we want to form separate departments that specialize in those different industries.”
She said they plan to increase the amount of agents on Divaris’ local roster. Divaris has 13 on staff locally, according to its website.
“With the pandemic, we’re not sure what the number (of new agents) will look like but we intend to expand not just our junior agents but also add mid-level and senior agents,” Cataldi said, noting that she’s particularly excited to help the newer agents grow.
“When I started in this business I was honored to work with a group of great mentors. I feel like it’s only my duty to give back to others with that.”
It’s still unclear what exact effects the pandemic-induced downturn will have on the commercial real estate industry, but Cataldi theorizes that there may be some tenant downsizing in terms of square footage needed in a post-coronavirus world.
“I think that we’re going to see space utilized in a different way. I don’t think we’ll see a lot of people working remotely. I think we’ll see people wanting to get back to work,” she said. “I think you’ll see people downsize and be a little more creative with their space.”
Cataldi and fellow Divaris brokers.
Loretta Cataldi (Photos courtesy Divaris Real Estate)
Stepping in to run one of the region’s commercial real estate brokerages is enough pressure on its own, but Loretta Cataldi faced another challenge with the timing of her new gig.
Cataldi, a longtime local retail broker, joined Virginia Beach-based Divaris Real Estate this spring as its principal and managing broker of the firm’s Richmond operations.
“My official start date was in mid-March. I started right when COVID started happening,” she said. “The biggest challenge was stepping in and having to get to know the brokers while working remotely.”
Cataldi has more than 20 years of experience in the industry, most recently working at The Shopping Center Group. She’s also had stints at Thalhimer, Colliers International and Madison Retail Group.
In addition to the Richmond and Virginia Beach offices, Divaris also operates in D.C., Northern Virginia and Charlotte, North Carolina. The Richmond office’s operation also covers Fredericksburg and parts of western Virginia.
After settling in, Cataldi said she’s now able to focus on some of the short-term goals like wrapping up deals that had been in the pipeline pre-COVID. Long term, she said she’d like to help diversify the sectors of commercial real estate Divaris is in.
“That would include office, industrial and maybe some multifamily,” Cataldi said. “We have a lot of agents in office and retail but I think we want to form separate departments that specialize in those different industries.”
She said they plan to increase the amount of agents on Divaris’ local roster. Divaris has 13 on staff locally, according to its website.
“With the pandemic, we’re not sure what the number (of new agents) will look like but we intend to expand not just our junior agents but also add mid-level and senior agents,” Cataldi said, noting that she’s particularly excited to help the newer agents grow.
“When I started in this business I was honored to work with a group of great mentors. I feel like it’s only my duty to give back to others with that.”
It’s still unclear what exact effects the pandemic-induced downturn will have on the commercial real estate industry, but Cataldi theorizes that there may be some tenant downsizing in terms of square footage needed in a post-coronavirus world.
“I think that we’re going to see space utilized in a different way. I don’t think we’ll see a lot of people working remotely. I think we’ll see people wanting to get back to work,” she said. “I think you’ll see people downsize and be a little more creative with their space.”
Cataldi and fellow Divaris brokers.
Loretta is a go-getter and sharp as a tack. She has amazing outreach in the industry. She was our top producer one year at Colliers back when Harrison&Bates was an affiliate. Divaris is lucky to get her.