(Crystal Proenza is associate editor of RealEstateFlorida.)

WINTER SPRINGS, FL- Given the current state of the economy, youwould think the president of a third-party retail leasing andproperty management firm might be worried about the state ofcommercial real estate. Not John M. Crossman, president of CentralFlorida-based Crossman & Co., who tells GlobeSt.com: "We're onpace to having the biggest year ever as far as leases signed."

Crossman leases a portfolio of over five million square feet inCentral Florida, including retail property at The Villages, thenation's largest single-site mixed-use development spanning over26,000 acres in three adjoining counties. The company has signedover 20 small shop leases there alone, says Crossman, along withanother 25 leases at various projects in Orlando. The company alsomanages over 2.4 million sf of retail and office buildings.