One business isn't enough for Carson City resident Jenny Lopiccolo. Since 1982, the Realtor built a realty firm and mortgage brokerage. In mid-April she opened her third business, Coldwell Banker Commercial Premier Brokers, to serve clients interested in business or investment.
"Opening a commercial office was a natural extension of our other businesses," she said. "Our clients can take care of all their real estate needs within our family of companies, from the purchase or construction of their home or commercial property to financing the whole project."
The decision seemed timely because the market is "going straight up," Lopiccolo said.
"The growth here is phenomenal," she said. "It's created an interest in the area, and a lot of that interest is related to the commercial market."
Lopiccolo is one of the 11 children of Dr. Henry Davis, a Carson City physician who retired from practice in the late 1980s to join the U.S. Air Force. She moved here with her family in 1968.
"I'm the only one still here," she said.
She attended the University of Nevada, Reno, for three years, then left to study real estate.
"That's a story in itself," she said. "I was very impatient to get going. When I found out real estate course took only 10 weeks, I was there."
She earned her real estate license in 1982, and worked for eight years before acquiring her broker's license in 1989. She managed Gold Dust Properties Residential with local broker Tom Johnson from 1989 until 1994, then purchased the business from him.
She said she creates and designs her businesses to attract the best people in the industry.
"My talent is finding good people and supporting them," she said.
Lopiccolo owns Coldwell Banker Best Sellers, a residential real estate company with offices in Dayton, Minden and Reno. Her mortgage brokerage firm, Elliott Ames Nevada Inc., has offices in Carson City, Minden and Reno. Altogether, she employs 77 people.
She is expanding her residential offices in Dayton and Carson City, in addition to creating the new commercial real estate business.
"I love this business. It's rewarding and challenging," said Lopiccolo, 44.
"The real estate business has gotten much more complex since I started, and it's a real challenge to help someone through the whole process."
Lopiccolo lives in Carson City with her husband, Mark. They have six grown children.
Contact Susie Vasquez at svasquez@nevadaappeal.com or 881-1212.