Walter C. Smith is a Senior Vice President at Newmark Pearson Commercial. He has been with the firm since 1995 specializing in land acquisition, contract negotiations, retail properties, investment sales and leasing, and ground-up development. Mr. Smith has earned many sales accolades during his career including CoStar Group “Power Broker” award, Salesperson of the Year, Top Retail Sales Producer for numerous years (2001, 2002, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009) and “Circle of Excellence” award placing in the Top 30, nationwide, of 680 sales professionals in 54 of Newmark affiliate offices for Transactions and Services.
Mr. Smith’s commercial real estate career began in 1987 as a retail specialist at CB Commercial Real Estate Group, Inc. in Fresno where he specialized in leasing numerous grocery/drug shopping centers in California’s Central Valley. This specialization was complimented by representing national and regional tenants in their expansion plans throughout California and numerous ground-up retail developments.
Mr. Smith’s decision to specialize in retail properties was a natural fit given his retail and management background. Mr. Smith is a fourth-generation member of the family-owned “Walter Smith Menswear” that operated in the Fresno area for 68 years where he managed all facets of the Fresno Fashion Fair branch prior to beginning his career in commercial real estate.
In recent years, Mr. Smith has developed a close working relationship with the single-family residential home building community and is actively engaged in several key developments.
Notable Land Transactions
- Woodside Homes, Fowler, CA
- Century Communities, Reedley, CA
- Century Communities, Kerman, CA
- Century Communities, Los Banos, CA
- KB Homes, Fresno, CA
Transactions in Progress
- Woodside Homes, 300 acres (master-planned community)
- KB Homes, 37.1 acres, Fowler, CA
- Valley Premier Land Group, 36 acres, Clovis, CA
- Valley Premier Land Group, 36 acres, Merced, CA
- D. R. Horton Homes, 28 acres, Ceres, CA
- KB Homes, 15 acres, Fresno, CA
- Granville Homes, 60 acres, Clovis, CA
- Approximately $70 million currently in escrow
Partial List of Sales Transactions
- Shepherd Ranch Shopping Center, Fresno, CA - Ralph’s Grocery Store, Walgreen’s & Carl’s Jr. - $21,000,000
- Walgreen’s, Fresno, CA - $5,099,061
- Walgreen’s Fresno, CA - $5,099,061
- Walgreen’s, Sanger, CA - $6,110,098
- Shops on Herndon, Fresno, CA - $5,300,000
- Shops on Herndon, Fresno, CA - $7,000± SF - $2,800,000
- Walgreens, Fresno, CA - $6,800,000
- Food 4 Less, Fresno, CA - $4,998,582
- Carl’s Jr., Fresno, CA - $1,723,418
Partial List of Development Transactions
- Packwood Regional Shopping Center, Visalia, CA - 650,000 GLA
- Lowe’s Home Improvement Center – PetSmart; Michael’s Arts & Crafts; Best Buy; Pier I; Cost Plus World Market; Target Greatland; Sports Chalet; Famous Footwear; Krispy Kreme; Olive Garden Restaurant; Mimi’s Café, Chili’s Grill & Bar
- Shepherd Ranch Shopping Center, Fresno, CA - 105,000 GLA, Ralph’s Grocery; Walgreen’s & Carl’s Jr.
- Parkway Trails Shopping Center, Clovis, CA - 100,000 GLA Specialty Center; Sherwin Williams; Shell Service Station; O’Reilly Auto; Sonic Drive-In
- Parkwood Plaza, Fresno, CA - 70,000 GLA; Chevron, Jack In The Box; GB 3 Fitness Center; Old Doc’s; DiCicco’s Restaurant
- Herndon & Willow, Fresno, CA - 16 Acre Mixed-Use Development with Office Medical & Retail; Neighborhood Market by Walmart & Walgreen’s
- Shields & Fowler, Fresno, CA -16-Acre Retail Development. Phase I Walgreen’s; Phase II, Proposed Foodsco, Retail Pads & Shops
- Houston & Ben Maddox, Visalia, CA - FoodMaxx Grocery Store; Jack In The Box & Me-N-Ed’s
- Northside Shopping Center, Visalia, CA - 160,000 SF, Food 4 Less; CVS Pharmacy; Dollar Tree, and Panda Express
Partial List of Company Clients
- Browman Development Company, Walnut Creek
- Walgreen’s Pharmacy
- CVS Pharmacy
- Community Medical Centers
- DBO Development Group, Monterey, CA
- Gongco, Visalia, CA
- Paynter Realty And Investments, Inc.
- Urbahns Companies, Indianapolis, IN
- Cannery Row Company, Monterey, CA
- Bank of America
- Community Medical Centers
- Food 4 Less
- Century Communities
- Granville Homes
- Woodside Homes
- KB Homes
- D. R. Horton Homes
Professional and Community Affiliations
- Fresno Historical Society Board Member
- International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC)
- Richmond Yacht Club
- Huntington Lake Boat Club
- Fig Garden Swim and Racquet Club
- Monterey Peninsula Yacht Club
Education
Mr. Smith attended California State University, Fresno, where he studied business administration.