Tim Schaffer

Tim Schaffer is the founder and president of AREA Real Estate Advisors established in 2002. He leads the firm’s transaction services, which include office, retail and industrial leasing, sales, brokerage, tenant representation, property management, and corporate service.

Tim has a well-deserved reputation as one of the most notable forces in the Kansas City real estate community. His more than 30-year career showcases many of the area’s most significant and most high-profile real estate transactions, effectively changing the skyline and helping to reshape the modern-day workplace in the metro.

With a primary focus of representing both tenants and landlords in the repositioning of their assets, Tim has worked with a collective which includes both national and local heavy hitters such as TEVA Pharmaceuticals, The American Academy of Family Physicians, Waddell & Reed, Dairy Farmers of America, Freightquote, Lockton Insurance, and the Phoenix office of Polsinelli Shughart.  Tim also has extensive experience in large tenant built-to-suit developments, and lease restructures for companies such as Freightquote, TEVA Neuroscience, and Dairy Farmers of America, Lockton Insurance and Waddell & Reed.

Tim has also established a focus in representing some of the fastest growing technology firms in Kansas City which include such PayIt, Backlot Cars, symplr, Tesseract, Freightquote and SMG.  Most recently, he is known for repositioning lightwell, a 750,000 square foot downtown office tower, into a destination for technology-driven companies seeking an innovative environment to attract and retain top talent. Since its transition in 2020 he has attracted such companies as Wework, PayIt, Backlot Cars, The Kansas City Tech Council, Veeva Systems and Alight Analytics.

Tim’s results-oriented and exceeding expectations approach helps him to produce well-researched and comprehensive solutions for his clients. One of his greatest strengths is identifying and overseeing the highly skilled teams of professionals including economic development, legal, financial, architectural and construction needed to bring a project to close. Tim has a long-term view of his client relationships and excels in controlling all aspects of a transaction adding maximum value to his client’s real estate decisions.

Tim has served on the Metropolitan Board of Realtors, the Johnson County Board of Realtors Commercial Investment Division, the Kansas City, MO Board of Zoning, and the Downtown Council, which exemplifies his ongoing commitment to the revitalization of Kansas City.

As a noted industry thought leader, Tim has been quoted and sought out as a commercial real estate expert in such publications as The Kansas City Business Journal, Kansas City Star, MetroWire Media and Midwest Real Estate News.