Our family real estate business was founded in 1928 by John and Rita Tourtelot, grandparents of the current owner, Bill Tourtelot. Because this was the beginning of the Great Depression and very few people were buying real estate, they specialized in Property Management & Leasing Services in addition to Sales. John Tourtelot managed the office and handled the real estate sales, and Rita Tourtelot took care of property management and rentals. Customers included the famous Babe Ruth who used our leasing services when renting a downtown apartment in St. Petersburg! The office was located in the heart of downtown St Petersburg, where the grandchildren (who are now mature adults!) remember watching the Christmas Parades on Central Avenue in front of the office. John and Rita believed in advertising listed properties to the maximum and quickly became known for their very large descriptive ads. Rita wrote the ads, winning national awards for best ad writing, that kept the phones “ringing off the hooks” on a daily basis and consistently attracted more of the best buyers and tenants to their clients’ listings. Over the years, the Tourtelot firm became St. Petersburg’s leading real estate company known for its’ high integrity, best quality marketing for selling & leasing properties and for consistent high results.
In the 50’s, 60’s & 70’s, John and Rita’s sons, Dick and Jack, managed the business as it grew into a large full-service firm with offices throughout Pinellas County serving clients throughout Tampa Bay. As more and more happy clients and customers referred the Tourtelot firm to others then more and more real estate agents wanted to join the firm to be trained and to participate in providing the highly professional real estate services. Dick and Jack became known as leading real estate brokers both locally and nationwide with other leading real estate brokers who specialized in relocation real estate services. During those years, Dick and Jack also became known as business and civic leaders in St. Petersburg and the Tampa Bay Area.
In the 70’s, 80’s, 90’s and 2000 to the present day, Bill and Rick Tourtelot, Dick’s sons, have upheld the Tourtelot family tradition of excellence in providing Tampa Bay the full spectrum of high quality real estate services. Both Bill and Rick joined the firm in 1970. Rick had just returned from a tour of active duty in Viet Nam while serving in the US Air Force. Bill joined as a full-time Realtor at age 19 and by the age of 21, he became recognized as the youngest real estate broker in the country. The Tourtelot brothers advanced the family real estate business by always being among the first to add new marketing methods, the latest technical innovations and the most up-to-date procedures in the four major specialized categories of real estate brokerage: Residential Sales, Property Management & Leasing, Relocation Services and Commercial/Investment Sales/Leasing. Because of this, the Tourtelot Real Estate Company remained the Leading Independent FULL SERVICE Real Estate Company in Pinellas County from 1928 to 2009.
In 2009, due to the “Great Recession” and terrible Tampa Bay real estate market from 2006-2012, the residential sales, relocation services and commercial sales divisions of the Tourtelot Brothers Inc. Real Estate business were merged with the largest real estate company in the world, Coldwell Banker/NRT. Tourtelot Property Management & Leasing services remain as a separate Tourtelot family business owned and guided by Bill Tourtelot.
Tourtelot, LLC dba Tourtelot Property Management & Leasing continues the Tourtelot family tradition of providing the highest quality and most up-to-date services in the very specialized real estate category of property management and leasing. Although Bill Tourtelot continues to guide the firms’ planning, procedures and marketing methods, the day-to-day business operations are managed by long-term property management & leasing broker, Debra Ogle, who has been the Director of Tourtelot Property Management & Leasing for almost 20 years. She is known throughout Tampa Bay as a leading property management & leasing specialist and she provides our clients with the on-going assurance of consistently receiving the very best, locally renowned property management & leasing services. In addition to Debra Ogle’s expertise, Tourtelot Property Management & Leasing services has the most experienced full-time property managers and support staff. All Tourtelot property management team members are full-time specialists in property management & leasing and do not also sell real estate. To do the job done right, property management & leasing requires a full-time effort. When it comes to leasing and management services, the Tourtelot family founders, John and Rita, would be most proud of how the Tourtelot Property Management & Leasing team of professionals continue to provide the best and most trusted services to our clients.
While the Tourtelot, LLC team continues the Tourtelot legacy in Property Management & Leasing services, Bill & Rick Tourtelot spend most of their time helping clients referred to them to sell or buy residential and commercial property for the best price. They now provide these services through The Tourtelot Group of Coldwell Banker. Their seller/buyer clients now receive all the personal service, marketing methods and local expertise that the Tourtelot Family has offered throughout Tampa Bay for 88 years COMBINED with the national marketing and global clout of the worlds’ most dynamic real estate company, Coldwell Banker, NRT.
