YOUR BUSINESS AUTHORITY
Springfield, MO
YOUR BUSINESS AUTHORITY
Springfield, MO
“You have to know the territory, mainly,” Weisz says, emphasizing that research is the key. “You have to know your backyard.”
Weisz’ backyard is Branson, where he’s known as the king of commercial real estate.
For 21 years, Weisz has focused exclusively on commercial real estate in the southern Missouri tourist mecca. Since 1996, he’s owned and operated Hollister-based Weisz Commercial Realty Inc., which brokers about $16 million in commercial real estate deals annually.
Branson is full of high-profile projects in which Weisz has played a major role: Weisz and Branson Realtor Larry Milton spent three years representing eight sellers in a 126-acre land deal that led to Branson Hills Plaza, home to Target, Home Depot, Kohl’s and T.J. Maxx. Weisz was one of five brokers that represented HCW Development Co. LLC in its land acquisition to build Branson Convention Center. He sold Mel Tillis’ theater in 2002, and sold Boxcar Willie’s theater in 2001. And Weisz represented Missouri Partners Inc. in 1989 in its acquisition of 330 acres for the Thousand Hills development, which now has Thousand Hills Golf Resort, Andy Williams Moon River Theatre and The Grand Palace.
That’s just scratching the surface.
“Where I really get enjoyment is selling a raw piece of land and seeing something come out of it,” says Weisz, who closely tracks transportation patterns, city and county business, property appraisals, and land transactions and availability.
“Public involvement is important, and being able to work politically is important in commercial real estate,” he says, adding that the Branson Hills Plaza project, for example, involved tax-increment financing and other incentive programs.
Weisz is a St. Louis native who spent a few years in Springfield as a teenager and again as a college student at Missouri State University, where he was a drama major but didn’t graduate. Weisz next worked in a variety of sales-related jobs, including one at Sunbird Lodge, a time-share community in Vail, Colo., where he met his wife, Ann, in 1978.
In 1983, the couple moved to Branson because of the area’s natural beauty and growth potential. Weisz wasn’t even planning to get into real estate at the time, but within a few months, he had his license. By 1986, he found his niche in commercial real estate.
“I decided to do one thing well,” he says, “rather than be all things to all people.”
Mark Weisz
Position: Owner/broker, Weisz Commercial Realty Inc.
Age: 55
Education: No college degree, though numerous professional accreditations
Career: Real estate positions in Branson; sales positions in other states, including national sales manager for an Ohio health food company
Q&A Date: July 15
Information accurate at the time of the publication.
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