Tony Souza has a vast knowledge of downtown Sarasota and her neighborhoods. His active participation and leadership in City and County issues have enhanced his knowledge of the region. He recently completed his term as Chairman of The Downtown Sarasota Alliance, Inc. and now serves as the Chair of its Advisory Board. He is a member of the City's Community Revitalization Area Advisory Board (CRAAB) and is a member of the Sarasota County Historic Preservation Board.
He is honored to be a realtor with Premier Sotheby's International Realty. He received his real estate license after his retirement as Executive Director of Habitat for Humanity Sarasota at the beginning of 2010. He is known for providing personal concierge service for his buyers and sellers.
Prior to joining Habitat, he was the President/CEO of the Downtown Partnership of Sarasota, Inc. He spearheaded the re-design of Fruitville Road, the City's main access road from Interstate 75 and the planning for the creation of the (DID) Downtown Business Improvement District. He was responsible in having part of downtown Sarasota placed on the National Register of Historic Places. He served as the Chairmen of SEMCON, two public planning programs focused on the beautification of the Downtown Improvement District. He has degrees in Building Construction Technology from Wentworth Institute of Technology in Boston, MA and a joint degree in Building Construction and Historic Preservation from Roger Williams University in Bristol, Rhode Island. In addition, he completed "Strategic Perspectives in Non-Profit Management" at the Harvard Business School.
In his life-long career in the real estate and building industries he served as the Director of Housing and Neighborhood Development for the City of New Bedford, MA where he participated in the rehabilitation of more than 1000 buildings and building new infill housing. He was a Mortgage Originator and Underwriter for the largest Savings Bank in Massachusetts and is fluent in all areas of mortgage lending.
Before moving to Sarasota in 2005, he was the Executive Director of WHALE, Inc. a New Bedford, MA based real estate Development Corporation that saved endangered buildings and rehabilitated them for contemporary uses. At WHALE, he created an Annual seminar educating Realtors about building styles and rehabilitation methods. This successful program was authorized by the New Bedford Board of Realtors. He has lectured widely on Neighborhood Development and American Architecture.
He and his wife Elsie Souza are world travelers and speak Portuguese.
Home Types:
Condo, House
Languages Spoken:
English, Portuguese
Education:
Harvard Business School
Roger Williams University
Wentworth Institute of Technology
