Tampa, Florida

Colliers Arnold is pleased to announce that Laura St. Clair, CRE, CCIM, CDP, Senior Consultant at Colliers Arnold, has been awarded professional certification to the inaugural class of real estate professionals in the development, design, and construction fields. This new designation, Certified Development, Design and Construction Professional (CDP), is designed to elevate the professional standards in the fields of shopping center development, design, and construction. Laura was one of only 178 professionals in the country to receive the designation.

"Those who attained the CDP certification demonstrated their broad knowledge and skills in retail development, design and construction," said Gordon T. Greeby, Jr., CDP, PE, president of the Greeby Companies and co-chairman of the ICSC CDP Admissions and Governing Committee. "December test-takers had to rely more on their industry experience than formal study materials. As such, this first class of CDP designees represents highly skilled and experienced professionals," Greeby added.

The new CDP designation is open to individuals who have been actively engaged in the development, design and/or construction of shopping centers for at least five years, preferably in one of the following professions: architect, engineer, general contractor/construction manager, facilities manager, retail store planning, or retail construction manager. These individuals may represent an independent contractor, a retail organization or a property owner.

To receive the CDP certification, individuals were required to take a knowledge-based written examination. It is a global designation, requiring competence in eight domains:

• Pre-Development
• Design
• Construction/Construction Management
• Retail Store Planning
• Tenant Coordination
• Codes/Rules and Regulations
• Project Cost Management
• Legal/Insurance/Ethics

The designation, as well as the examination, was developed through the input of a governing committee of ICSC members representing various countries in Europe, North America and South America. Co-chairing that committee with Greeby is James F. Tinkum, a veteran store development and construction executive, formerly with Payless ShoeSource Worldwide, Inc.

"It is a real plus for retail companies, shopping center developers and contractors to have their key people hold what we believe is a highly prestigious designation," said Tinkum.

Founded in 1957, ICSC is the not-for-profit trade association of the shopping center industry. It serves its over 70,000 members in 92 countries by assisting in the development of their businesses through professional education, conferences and conventions, publications, research and legislative actions.

Laura also holds the prestigious CRE designation from the Counselors of Real Estate and the CCIM certification from the CCIM Institute.  The CRE designation is demonstrative of her peer recognition of outstanding intelligence, integrity, and judgment in real estate. The CCIM (Certified Commercial Investment Member) designation signifies her expertise in financial analysis, market analysis, user decision analysis, and investment analysis for commercial investment real estate and is testament to the core knowledge expected of top-level commercial investment professionals.

Laura fulfills dual positions with the Arnold Companies, serving as Senior Consultant for Colliers Arnold and President of the development and investment company, L.A. Financial. 

Laura holds a Bachelor of Science degree with High Honors from the University of Florida with double majors in Finance and Real Estate.  Laura is a licensed real estate broker in Florida.

About Colliers

Founded in the Tampa Bay area in 1974, Colliers Arnold is a full service commercial real estate firm. The company offers sales, leasing, asset and property management, corporate services, valuation and consulting services. Colliers Arnold has offices in Tampa, Clearwater, Orlando, Fort Myers, and Naples, and is a partner in Colliers International.

Colliers International is a global affiliation of independently owned commercial real estate firms. The organization's 11,000 professionals span the world in 293 offices in 61 countries. On a worldwide basis, Colliers manages 868 million square feet and has revenue of $US 2.0 billion.

Contact Information

Pat Duffy
(813) 221-2290

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