Melissa Rutland, President of Rutland Florida Gulf Group LLC, has matched investors and real estate properties in sophisticated commercial real estate transactions for more than two decades. A St. Pete native whose family has been involved in real estate for four generations, she specializes in off-market investment and development properties and is a Certified Commercial Investment Member (CCIM). Ms. Rutland expertly identifies acquisitions for investment and development, including land assemblages. She also negotiates leases for expanding businesses, large franchises, and multi-tenant complexes. Her favorite types of transactions are those that require a lot of creativity.
Ms. Rutland is experienced in consulting, investment, valuation, asset management, construction, development, design, financing, property management, and tenancy, including historic downtown commercial properties. She has closed transactions for a variety of property types, such as hotel, restaurant, retail, self-storage, industrial, undeveloped land, office, multifamily, and agricultural.
Ms. Rutland’s commitment to community shines in her volunteer and philanthropic work. In August 2023, Ms. Rutland was appointed to the Juvenile Welfare Board of Pinellas County (JWB) by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, where her talents and experience will help guide JWB’s 75-plus year history of investing in children to strengthen the community. She also serves on the boards of the YMCA of Greater St. Petersburg and the St. Petersburg Downtown Partnership.
Ms. Rutland received her bachelor’s degree from Flagler College and was one of 30 women selected to take part in the Women’s Executive Leadership Program at the University of Pennsylvania’s prestigious Wharton School. She is active in the CCIM Institute, which designates leading experts in commercial investment real estate, as well as in NAIOP and the Urban Land Institute.