Management Team

Shary Thur, CCIM
President
cell: 202.359.3469 (Washington DC Metro Area) or 561.989.4203 (Florida)
office: 703.879.4960
email: sthur@thurassociates.com

Shary Thur’s background in retail began in 1979, when she worked in the retail furniture industry while getting her bachelors degree at the University of Maryland.

Directly out of school, Thur opened her own beauty salon and ran it for almost 2 years before selling it. She went back into the furniture industry as a wholesale representative for several furniture lines and sold directly to the retail stores in the Mid-Atlantic region.

Approximately four years later, Thur started a computer company with a partner, which designed computer software for chiropractors. Thur sold her interest in 1988, and entered the Commercial Real Estate industry.

She started leasing commercial real estate with a small firm in Bethesda, Maryland and was quickly recruited by The Carey Winston Company where she worked in their Retail Division. By turning around many troubled centers within a short period, she gained recognition in her field. Her expert leasing capabilities allowed her to acquire several new properties for the firm, and for her efforts, she was promoted to Vice President.

In 1995, looking for a better opportunity to handle leasing in a much larger capacity, Thur was recruited by CNM Associates to handle the mid-Atlantic region. At the end of her first year, she received the most prestigious award given by CNM Associates, “Employee Exceeding All Expectations”.

In 1996, she received her CCIM recognition. Thur has served on several boards including the chairing and working on the ICSC mid-Atlantic Conference for the past 10 years, CREW (Commercial Real Estate Women) and WIRRE (Women in Retail Real Estate) executive committee, and founded a power broker’s club that meets monthly. 

She has worked with a great deal of the national major retailers in the country such as: The Limited, Staples, Marshall’s, Home Depot, Harris Teeter, Ross, Circuit City, and Pier One just to name a few. She has also represented many publicly traded REITS and developers such as: Kimco Realty Corporation, Atlantic Realty Companies, M & J Wilkow, RREEF and many others.

Her experience includes new developments out of the ground, redevelopments, turning around troubled properties, shopping centers, urban developments and out parcel pads. She has turned around dozens of troubled shopping centers for many Landlords locally such as Bethesda Corner, Marumsco Plaza, Briggs Chaney Shopping Center, Festival at Muddy Branch and centers in Pennsylvania and the Northeast: Colonial Commons, Market Fair North, Shoppes at Clarks Pond, Whiteland Towne Center and many others.

Shary attributes her success to creative out of the box thinking and strategically placing tenants in centers to complement each other. She holds brokers licenses in multiple states and represents National Tenants and Franchisees in site selection all over the country.

Finally, Shary brings her energy, focus and dedication toward retail leasing to a new level. Her passion for the retail leasing business is a life long commitment. Her mission statement is “Under promise and Over-deliver”.

About Thur Retail We are involved in every step of the deal process, including letter of intent negotiations, preparing presentations for retailers’ real estate committee review and involvement with attorneys on lease negotiations as well as finding reputable contractors for the building and construction. We earn high marks from both our retail clients and the landlords we make deals with, for our involvement in the deal process from start to finish and our assistance in getting deals completed in a timely manner. Thur Retail has been meeting the site selection and development needs of retailers and investors all over the country for 25 years. Our list of clients demonstrates that retailers and developers trust us and can rely on us for a range of real estate needs. We act as trusted real estate advisors rather than as a traditional brokerage firm. Analyzing retail markets, selecting store locations and negotiating economic deals are very critical factors in the success of any retail company. A retail lease is one of the largest financial commitments that retailers make. Because our business model is relationship-driven, not transaction-based, we look at locations through the eyes of the retailer. We recommend what is in the best interest of our clients at all times, including walking away from deals if not optimal.

Marty Diamond, CCIM
Vice President, Leasing
direct: 703.879.4965
office: mdiamond@thurassociates.com

Marty Diamond is the Vice President of Leasing of Thur & Associates, a retail leasing and tenant representative firm. Mr. Diamond has represented national, regional and local tenants in procuring leases in malls, strip centers, lifestyle centers and in the outlet industry as well as office parks and industrial sites. He has worked with architects, permit expediters, and contractors to keep projects moving in a timely fashion. His considerable knowledge of real estate, strong retail background and business development with past bottom line responsibility has given him the ability to communicate effectively with other retailers. He generally understands their problems and is able to offer solutions and ideas when problems occur. He has gained the confidence of his many clients and has developed relationships that have lead to referrals and increased business.

Marty joined the firm in 2004 and has over 11 years of commercial real estate experience in addition to over 25 years of operational experience in the retail industry. He was a principle of the twenty five store, Hahn Shoe chain in the Washington DC market and prior to coming to Washington DC, Marty was an executive with Melville Corporation as a vice president of operations of a new, start-up chain. At Brown Shoe Company he was a vice president of leased operations at Carson, Pirie Scott in Chicago, J.L. Hudson’s in Detroit, and Macy’s New York. He was also involved with the Famous Footwear chain, Naturalizer Stores and a deep discount chain of retail stores.

Mr. Diamond attended Missouri University prior to beginning his retail career and received his CCIM certification in 1998.

Mike Schofer
Director, Leasing
office: 703.879.4967
email: mschofer@thurassociates.com

Mike is a native Washingtonian for the past 38 years and grew up in Bethesda, Maryland. He has earned degrees in Mathematics and Finance from Albright College in Reading, PA., where he was a vital member of the football program. Currently he is an active member of the International Council of Shopping Centers and is working towards obtaining his CCIM certificate.

Prior to joining Thur & Associates, Mike was a leasing associate for another commercial leasing firm in Washington, DC. He specializes in the sale and leasing of retail real estate for Thur and Associates, as well as, tenant representation in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area. Mike brings with him 10 years of restaurant management experience as well as 7 years as a sales and marketing manager for a local logistics company, where he increased company sales and profits exponentially. Needing a new challenge and wanting to be a part of the Washington’s revitalization, Mike took his persistence, desire to achieve and his outstanding accomplishments into commercial real estate. With his strong growth goals and years of market knowledge in the field of retail and real estate, Mike has proven to be a vital part of the Thur & Associates team. He uses his high standing in the community, his reputation for honesty, loyalty and integrity to build strong long term relationships with many quality retailers and landlords.

Mike currently resides in Montgomery County with his wife Nicole and two daughters. He enjoys golf and fitness. He is active in his community and children’s school life and looks forward to being part of building a better city for his family.

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Joey McCloskey
Leasing Assistant
office: 703.229.6163 x4976
email: jmccloskey@thurassociates.com

Jonathan Cashion
Director, Leasing and Investment Sales
office: 561.395.2441 
cell: 561.302.7071
email: jcashion@thurassociates.com

Jonathan has been a resident of South Florida for 25 years and has always had a passion for Real Estate. He obtained his Bachelor’s Degree in Marketing with course work in Real Estate from Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton, FL.

While attending college in Boca Raton, Jonathan pursued his passion for Real Estate by working with many top producing agents in the Residential Market. Immediately after graduating he jumped right into a diverse Real Estate Firm in Ft. Lauderdale, FL engaging in office, retail, and investment sales. Jonathan realized his passion to focus on retail leasing and joined Thur Retail in 2007, where he specializes in Tenant & Landlord representation, both Nationally and locally.

Excellence is a must in everything Jonathan does. He is very dedicated and has the highest work ethic and loyalty in the industry. His dedication to the success of every client in achieving their goals is what makes him most successful. Jonathan is a member of the International Council of Shopping Centers.

Andrew Guzik
Leasing Associate
office: 561.395.2441
cell: 954.598.4564
email: andrew@thurassociates.com 

Andrew has been active in real estate since 2005 when he began his real estate career while attending college at The Florida State University.  Andrew began his career in the mortgage industry as a part time mortgage broker while finishing his degrees in Entrepreneurship, Finance, and Multinational Business with secondary degrees in Economics, Spanish and Chinese. Following college, Andrew entered the mortgage industry full time and eventually set up a Commercial Finance company, BlueWater Commercial Group out of Davie Florida, which proved unsuccessful after 2 years. Having never lost his passion for commercial real estate, Andrew eventually found his way to other side of the commercial real estate market after a chance meeting with Shary Thur. 

Having been trained in the mortgage market, Andrew is a cold calling machine and finds many of his clients through aggressive follow up and persistence. This formula continues to pay dividends for him. Andrew is an astute outside the box thinker and believes his success is attributable to a positive outlook on life, an ability to easily develop and maintain rapport with a diverse group of people from all walks of life and a deep seated desire to be of service to those in need. Andrew primarily focuses on Tenant & Landlord Representation as well as Investment Sales, both nationally and locally.

Christopher Saa
Leasing Assistant
office: 703.879.4971
email: csaa@thurassociates.com

A Native Virginian, Chris has extensive experience in the commercial real estate industry which enables him to envision the potential for specific spaces and to identify industry players that would be best able to generate substantial revenue for landlords.

He also has extensive experience with using social and digital media for SEO (Search Engine Optimization) and has developed many skills by developing and implementing outreach initiatives which included extensive canvassing and business development.

Prior to joining Thur Retail, Chris worked as a Business Broker for Sunbelt Business Brokers. This experience has enabled him to develop many skills that are an integral part of commercial real estate brokerage. He developed marketing and community outreach strategies for increasing exposure of key listings; Performed a range of pertinent marketing and operational functions includin canvassing, cold calling, market research, economic forecasting, and website maintenance; Networked with other business brokers, real estate agents and landlords to help facilitate deals and Established a solid understanding of the backend and frontend process integration between sales, marketing and operations divisions of the company

In addition to industry knowledge, Community involvement is very important to Chris. He believes strongly in social entrepreneurship and building relationships between industry and community. He Helped raise over $65,000 for charitable organizations through church involvement in October, 2012; Participated in monthly community service projects including fundraising and donation collection to help many special groups including victims of Hurricane Sandy, homeless men and women, and St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital; Coached children’s soccer and is affiliated with Local Chambers of Commerce and Non-profit Organization.

Chris is a Licensed Realtor in the Commonwealth of Virginia.