Lily H. Heimburger sees her influence as a way to nurture the professional development of the next generation of commercial real estate professionals, especially women.
Heimburger, a Charlottesville, Va., native and a broker with SRS Real Estate Partners, studied marketing and international business at Appalachian State University before moving to Atlanta on a whim to work as a temp answering phones for an office
“I remember thinking to myself ‘This is kind of cool. I like this,’” she said. “I started doing due diligence for them and helped them build out a hotel, but I realized I didn’t go to college to answer phones, do paperwork and be an executive assistant.”
So, Heimburger, now a member of the Atlanta Commercial Board of Realtors, left the company became licensed and started working for
Sembler Co. as a leasing representative where she specialized in retail leasing for existing developments, both third party and Sembler-owned, and pre-leasing of new developments.
“I was a lease administrator there for about two years before a bunch of people left and they gave me my shot,” she said. “I was there for eight years and it was a great place to
grow up.”
While at Sembler, Heimburger said she was impressed by the developers and mentors who worked there.
“Tina Howard and Sheri Ross took me under their wing and taught me how to read site plans and what everything meant,” she said. “Scott McLane and Matt Wilson would explain things to me because the things we do are very intricate and development-involved.”
After getting her feet wet at The Sembler Co., Heimburger left to work for Ray Uttenhove at SRS Real Estate Partners in 2003. Heimburger started off as a lease administrator but was promoted to leasing representative within two years. While at SRS Real Estate Partners Heimburger has worked on projects including The Prado, Deerfield Place, Edgewood Retail District, Midtown Place, Lindbergh Plaza, Park Place and Perimeter Place.
“There is an amazing team here that has helped me along the way,” Heimburger said. “My partner Adrienne Crawford is remarkable and Ray is one of the most influential and knowledgeable women in this industry.”
While at SRS Real Estate Partners, Heimburger began working with Paces Properties Inc.
“I started working with Paces after I became a broker,” she said. “They knew I did Edgewood Retail District and they gave me a shot a leasing a shopping center on St. Simons Island.”
After completing a few leases for Paces’ property on St. Simons, Heimburger asked them if could try leasing space in Krog Street Market, an adaptive reuse/conversion of a manufacturing and warehouse facility.
Merritt Lancaster, principal for Paces Properties, connected with Heimburger while she was leasing space for them on St. Simons Island.
“Obviously in the context of my immediate relationship with her, she does a great job at sourcing and picking the right tenants for our retail assets, so she certainly influences us in that she is helping us be
successful,” Lancaster said.
Heimburger chaired the Southeast ICSC Program Planning Committee in 2014, notes Leasing Advisors Founder Shannon Shuman Martin.