Each year, Midwest Real Estate News inducts a new class into its Commercial Real Estate Hall of Fame. Here is a look at the career of one of our newest inductees, Cynthia Kratchman, principal with Mid-America Real Estate in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan.
Cynthia Kratchman, Principal at Mid-America Real Estate, boasts over three decades of experience and is a graduate of Wayne State University with a Master’s Degree in Education. She specializes in tenant representation, entertainment, and prominent landlord leasing.
For Kratchman, the best part of the job is that it’s forever changing. “The business of real estate mirrors our lives,” she said. “Real estate follows the movement of society, and I have enjoyed learning what these tenants and businesses need to succeed as trends come and go. We never really know what awaits us the next day.”
Yet, that’s also what makes the job challenging. Commercial real estate was entirely different than it is today, and it’s taken time to reach her current success.
“Retail brokerage was a male-dominated business, heavy on mall developers and mall retailers, with very few women at all,” Kratchman said. “As strip, power and neighborhood centers evolved, so grew the pool of newly built centers and those that service them. During that era, I switched from a paid teaching position to an entirely different commission-based position. People showed confidence in me along the way, and I felt empowered—although poor!”
The guidance of others early on that helped her pave the road to success, and Kratchman has made it a point to pay it forward.
“I would have never achieved what I have were it not for some really great mentors who believed in me, “she said. “These are people that saw potential in me that I was not prepared to see in myself. That’s why I try to pay it forward and be available for the next generation. Some twenty years later, I’m still working with one of my mentees at Mid-America Real Estate Group in Michigan. My door is always open.”
And a lot can be said about her persistence and commitment to the craft. Kratchman spent much of her time reading, going to conferences, networking and working, and now she’s one of the best in the business. She’s a natural at working with a full range of retailers, from box to boutique tenants, and she’s closed well over 1,000 deals during her career. Additionally, Kratchman is skilled in executing expansion plans and securing sites for high-profile retailers entering the market.
Kratchman has many professional affiliations and is deeply involved in the International Council of Shopping Centers or ICSC, a trade organization that represents all aspects of retail real estate. She has held positions from State Director to Central Division Government Relations Co-Chair to Central Division P3 Co-Chair and was recently part of a leadership team in 2022 that redefined the direction and goals for the ICSC Volunteer Leadership Program. Currently, she serves nationally on the ICSC Economic Sub-Committee and the ICSC Community Enhancement Advisors. She also received the ICSC Trustees Distinguished Services Award, awarded to only a few in over the council’s history.
When she’s not working, Kratchman enjoys spending time with her husband, family and friends, attending cultural events, cooking, and supporting the City of Detroit. “Through good times and not so good times, I support the arts, and I enjoy all the new restaurants,” she said. “The most exciting piece is that now, as the city has come back, I am thrilled to be working to bring some exciting new retailers and entertainment users to the city!”