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John Shell, Jr. -- 2001

What city are you from?
Vicksburg, MS

What year did you move to Charlotte?
1985

How did you get started in real estate?
Went to Ole Miss for undergrad and then got a Masters in Land Use Planning. From there he became a planner in Kentucky. He got tired of being a land planner and saw an opportunity to use the knowledge he had gained working for the government in private development.

Brief summary of career:
With his experience working for a government bureaucracy, John saw an opportunity to get on the private side of development. He applied for a position with Sears, Roebuck & Co. and was one of 6 from a pool of 2200 applicants chosen for the position. Shortly after he started with Sears, many of the senior level development team members were fired and replaced with John and his peers who were junior developers. This was an opportunity for him to work with the “giants of the development business.” In the early 1980’s, John was ready to leave Chicago and was hired by Faison to work in Virginia. In mid 1988, John became a vice president at Charter Properties and oversaw industrial and office development. In the late 1990’s, he left to head up McGuire Properties as their Broker in Charge. In 2004, John took a “leap of faith” and joined Centurion Properties to “get back in the development business.”

What are you doing today?
Centurion Properties has developed 250,000 square feet of shadow centers in North and South Carolina. They focus on acquisition of entitled land, develop it, and sell the real estate.

How has the region changed since your presidency?
• It is much more urban
• Introduction of Light Rail
• High rise condos in Uptown
• Most recently, as we were experiencing a “feeling of invincibility,” in the Charlotte MSA we got a “sobering splash in the face” with the departure of many banking jobs and the overall recession

When President, what accomplishment were you most proud of?
Develop and promote meaningful education programs for commercial brokers; Partly through differentiating between commercial and residential brokerage; Worked to bring about the commercial certification program; Felt (and feels) that it is very important to “offer something” to the membership; When he was on the Board, the Board of Directors had to sign personal guarantees in order to keep the organization alive. They were able to do so, and got the operation “back in black;” Worked to get reciprocity between states for licensed brokers;

What are the 1-2 most important events that happened to CRCBR during your presidency?
Became more proactive in bringing awareness to legislation that affects our industry

What's your favorite piece of real estate in Charlotte?
Bank of America Tower

What's your favorite piece of architecture in Charlotte?
Bank of America Tower – He was with Charter properties when the land was purchased

What's your favorite Charlotte restaurant, now or then?
Terra on Providence Road

What deal do you remember that had the most influence on the Charlotte marketplace?
At a time when US Airways was going bankrupt and First Union was trying to acquire a Georgia bank, Charlotte passed a bond to continue expanding. This kept Charlotte growing and moving in the right direction.

What is important for members of CRCBR to know about you?
John never had a “burning desire” to be president but he knew it was the right thing to do. It was “his time to serve”.


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