Member Spotlight: Pete Shelton Dives into Market Data + Culture Inside Colliers Atlanta
06/18/2025
Pete Shelton knows Midtown. A Senior Vice President and Principal at Colliers Atlanta, Shelton earned his MBA from Georgia Tech and has worked with the Atlanta real estate firm for nearly 30 years. Consider this: during his tenure at Colliers, 140+ major development projects have been delivered in Midtown. He has also played an important role in guiding Midtown’s growth as a Midtown Alliance Board Member since 2018.
We connected with Shelton to talk about Midtown, the state of office building leasing activity, and what sets Colliers Atlanta apart as the firm where industry professionals can build a career. Read more:
Q: Colliers has a long history in Atlanta. How does Colliers Atlanta contribute to the unprecedented commercial development boom we’ve experienced here?
A: Colliers has been contributing to the local commercial development boom for decades. It’s part of our company’s DNA. Our company structure is unique for our industry in Atlanta. We have a partnership model where high-producing principals own shares in the local Atlanta business across all of our business disciplines, from brokerage to facilities management. This promotes greater collaboration and drive to do the best for our clients, and ultimately win more business. In the past decade, revenues have tripled and we’ve grown our workforce. And we have been fortunate to represent some of Atlanta’s most successful companies, including Racetrac, HDSupply, Equifax, Deluxe Corp., Papa Johns, Georgia Pacific, Smurfit Westrock, UPS and others.
Q: What signals is the Midtown market giving right now about office leasing activity, the presence of workers in the office and overall investment?
A: Despite the high vacancy rate of class A office buildings in Midtown today (34% as of Q1 2025), Midtown is at its healthiest level since the pandemic. YTD net demand for office space in Midtown has increased 110% in Q1 2025. And velocity in Midtown for large deals is up materially from a year ago. In Q1 2024 there were zero deals over 40,000 SF versus six deals in Q1 2025. Four of six tenants were new to Midtown. Attracting workers back to the office depends on the function and culture of the business. At Colliers, we have spent time and effort to deepen our office culture by emphasizing our in-person connections as coworkers and teammates. We’ve done this through office gathering events where we bond over food, fun, learning, and service. And our numbers are up considerably as a result.
Q: What is the culture like inside the Colliers Atlanta office?
A: Coming out of graduate school, I was looking for a firm with global reach, but nimble and without the bureaucracies that I had experienced inside other businesses earlier in my career. Colliers was the perfect fit for me. It was, and continues to be, a highly entrepreneurial organization with local ownership and a flat management structure. Founded in Atlanta in 1967 as a commercial mortgage finance group, the firm has continued to grow. We are still in the commercial mortgage finance business, but have expanded to be leaders in Office, Industrial, Retail, Hospitality and Multi-Family Brokerage, Site Selection, Investment Sales, Property Management, Project Management, and perhaps most importantly, Facilities Management – the largest such business in the Southeast! People come to Colliers specifically for the culture – which is centered on trust and respect, growth and belonging, and open communication. Because of our culture and structure, I have always felt like we have materially less turnover. It is not uncommon to join Colliers and stay for your entire career. I’ve just finished up my 27th year at the firm. It’s a unique place with very special people.
Q: How does the Colliers Atlanta team get involved in serving the community?
A: Our teams regularly volunteer in the community. It strengthens our relationships with each other when we get out of the office and work on helping others in need. Most recently, we have been contributing our time and financial resources to a range of organizations, including Atlanta Community Food Bank, Big Brothers Big Sisters, Drew Charter School, Piedmont Park Conservancy, and the Shepherd Center, among many others.
Q: You’ve served on the Midtown Alliance Board since 2018. Talk about your role on the Board.
A: I have been honored to serve the Midtown Alliance and humbled to sit beside our city’s leaders to help improve the district and the lives of those who live and work here. I use my personal and professional networks to expand the organization’s reach, attract new members, and open doors to new opportunities. Having worked in Midtown for the last 30+ years, I take this commitment seriously and am deeply proud of it.
Q: In your opinion, what makes Midtown Alliance successful in creating an exceptional urban experience?
A: Midtown Alliance has the best personnel in the business. Their commitment to the cause of a greater Midtown experience is infectious and inspires their Board and stakeholders to actively participate in making Midtown a better place to work, live and play. The leadership team is inspiring, and brings strong governance, accountability, and transparency in everything they do. Collectively, this engagement fosters a community of open debate, civil discourse, and meaningful discussion that leads to creative strategic vision and successful decision making.
Curious about the business of leasing office space in Midtown? Read the latest quarterly market report from Colliers here.