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SOUTHW
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FLORIDA’S
MOST COMPREHENSIVE GUIDE TO
COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE
Including Warehouse, Medical, Industrial, Land Sales, Businesses for Sale
Since
1986
Lee, collier, charlotte counties
www.suitelifemagazine.com
September/October 2016 VOLUME 32 NUMBER 5

2. Suite Life September/October 2016
24
FEATURE STORY
Commercial Management of Naples, Inc.
New Partnership Merges Tradition,
Technology To Benefit Commercial Clients
By Elizabeth W. Pearce
s CMI manages this 36,149sf Class-A office space at 1185 Immokalee Road in
Naples.
For the last 25 years, Dean Prevo-
los has relished his independence as a
founder and broker of record for Com-
mercial Management of Naples, Inc.
(CMI). During that time, he has built a
successful sales, leasing and property
management business with a current
portfolio of approximately 428,000sf
Class-A and Class-B office, retail and
industrial properties under manage-
ment in Southwest Florida.
Most are in Naples and include:
Riverchase Office Park (a five-
building medical complex totaling
28,057sf); Riverchase Office Com-
mons (13 individual office buildings
totaling 107,000sf); Expressions
Realty Building (an 11,433sf multi-
use property); and Suncoast Condo-
minium Office Buildings (a 42,420sf
multi-office property). CMI also has a
presence in Lee and Charlotte counties.
Prevolos has accomplished all of
this almost single-handedly, aided by
just a few key staff members. “We’ve
always been a small company,” says
Prevolos. “I’ve never had any dreams of
being a large firm with multiple offices
and lots of employees.” The same ap-
plies to CMI’s clientele, which Prevolos
has carefully cultivated over the years.
“I don’t go out and solicit new busi-
ness as much as people call me to take
it on. And I’m a little picky,” he admits.
“I interview the client and look at the
property” before deciding whether to
take on the business. Those who make
the grade receive Prevolos’ unwavering
attention and exemplary service, deliv-
ered promptly and precisely.
“Dean’s sense of urgency outshines
anyone I’ve ever met in the business,”
says Don Barber, a founder of Boran
Craig Barber Construction and long-
time CMI client. Since 2005, CMI has
bought, sold, leased and managed
Barber’s numerous commercial proper-
ties, as well as provided construction
management services.
According to Barber, Prevolos treats
every property as if he owns it, going so
far as to address issues that may not be
his contracted responsibility. “He tries
to make ownership as easy as possible,”
says Barber, who describes Prevolos
as being “totally trustworthy” and
“unbelievably dependable. Typically,
he tells us about a problem after it has
been resolved, rather than burden us
with it first.”
Creating a Succession Plan
Although Barber retired from the
construction business and moved from
Naples two years ago, he and Prevolos
stay in close touch. Currently, CMI is
in the process of selling Barber’s last
local property. “That’s the great thing
about Dean,” says Barber. “I was able
to retire and move to Gainesville with
the complete confidence that he’d take
care of things. He has.”
Prevolos, on the other hand, has
often pondered who would take care
of CMI’s clients when he retired. Like
other sole proprietors, he faces the
choice of either selling to a larger
company or closing up shop, neither of
which he finds palatable. “First of all,
there’s a value to the business after 25
years, so it doesn’t make financial sense
to me to just close up,” says Prevolos.
Further, he worries that CMI’s clients
and tenants would suffer if service fal-
tered under new management.
“I always felt that if I could find the
right individual who could spend time
with me over two or three years and
learn how I’ve been operating for the
last 25, that person could also improve
what is in place,” he says.
Enter Naples broker Darren DiFilip-
po, who joined CMI in January as a
partner.
Complementary Skills
Although Prevolos is a Baby Boom-
er and DiFilippo a Millennial, their
personalities and business acumen
are strikingly similar. Both are fiercely
independent and ambitious, and both
were successful entrepreneurs prior to
pursuing careers in real estate.
Prevolos was a popular Chicago
chef, restaurant owner and site selec-

3. Suite Life September/October 2016
25
s The Woodruff Institute Building, which CMI manages and leases in Bonita
Springs.
tion consultant for the restaurant in-
dustry before he moved to Southwest
Florida in 1985. DiFilippo, a native
of Erie, Pennsylvania, has a history
of buying and profitably selling small
businesses. Six years ago he moved to
Naples, where he owned and operated a
commercial brokerage from 2012-2015.
The two met when DiFilippo’s
company was managing a property
adjacent to CMI’s office building. They
quickly discovered how much they had
in common. “Darren reminds me of me
when I was his age,” says Prevolos. “Our
similarities are quite interesting. We re-
ally do think a lot alike.”
According to Prevolos, DiFilippo is
“smart and has all the skills of a good
businessman. He knows how to listen to
people and identify their needs, which
is critically important in this business.
I’m not training a novice here. I’m just
helping him hone his skills.”
For DiFilippo, partnering with Pre-
volos was an easy decision. “Dean has
such a good reputation in town and has
been so successful. To be able to learn
from him and really expand my career
was a good fit for me.”
DiFilippo says the partnership has
other benefits, as well. “If I have a ques-
tion, I’ll just reach out to Dean and get
an immediate response. I think there’s
a real value in that, not just for us, but
for our customers.”
Prevolos says he’s especially im-
pressed with DiFilippo’s decision-
making abilities. “I’ve been out of the
office when a call has come in and
Darren has handled it, and it’s exactly
what I would have done,” he says. “So
I feel confident in his ability to take the
reins in my absence.”
Technology with
a Personal Touch
Despite their similarities as brokers,
the partners’ ideas about technology
tend to reflect differences in age and
experience. To Prevolos, the Internet
has had the most profound impact on
the way he conducts business.
“I remember having to go downtown
to access the county records, which
were on microfilm, to find out who
owned what. And with closings, every-
one would sit around a table, signing
papers and exchanging checks. These
days, everything is done online.”
DiFilippo, on the other hand, grew
up with technology and can’t imagine
conducting business without a cell
phone. “I see technology as a way to
increase productivity,” he says, adding
that he is constantly learning about the
latest high-tech tools and applications.
“Staying up with (technological advanc-
es) enables me to interact more quickly
and effectively with my co-workers and
customers.”
Prevolos agrees that while cell
phones and computers facilitate effi-
ciency,hestillprefersthemorepersonal,
low-tech approach. Typically, he uses
his phone for talking, not texting, and
encourages owners and tenants to call
him directly rather than send an email.
“What might take two minutes to
resolve on the phone frequently takes
numerous emails back and forth,” says
Prevolos, adding that email can be
misdirected or overlooked. “Besides,
it’s often impossible to include every-
thing in an email, especially when I’m
discussing a sale or a lease.”
Callers to CMI’s office will always
connect with a person and not an
automated system. From day one, the
firm has had a receptionist by day and
an after-hours answering service to
take incoming calls. “You’ll always get
through to an actual person if you call
us,” says Prevolos. “I guess I’m still old-
fashioned like that.”
Conversely, he relies heavily on
technology when it comes to functions
such as marketing, researching and
managing properties. For years, CMI
has utilized the most sophisticated
proprietary management software to
generate detailed monthly, quarterly
and year-to-date reports for its clients.
Each report provides a comprehensive
accounting of income and expenses,
cash flow and other financial data used
to track a property’s profitability. CMI
is also a premium member of LoopNet
and a CoStar subscriber.
The Next 25 Years
Prevolos says he believes that tech-
nology will be increasingly important
to his business as the marketplace
continues to diversify geographically.
But now that DiFilippo’s on board, he
says he’s confident that CMI can meet
any challenges that lie ahead.
“The future is for Darren to continue
creating a better way to do business
with other brokers, both in state and
out of state, finding clients and provid-
ing them the best possible service,” says
Prevolos. “I see him maximizing tech-
nology to streamline the way we mar-
ket properties and work with clients,
whether they’re local or out of state.”
As for his future outside of CMI, Pre-
volos sees himself “taking a back seat
and not working as much.” In fact, he
has already tested his prediction. Over
the summer, he took his first vacation
in years, leaving DiFilippo in charge of
the brokerage.
“I told Dean not to call me; that I’d
call him (with updates) and he was
good with that,” says DiFilippo. “I’m
here for a reason and if I can do that
for him, then I’m accomplishing what
I set out to do.” -