Our Team

Steve entered the field of commercial real estate in 1985 after working nearly a decade as a hard rock miner at Sunshine Mine and other construction-related jobs. That early experience guided him toward industrial real estate, his specialization from the beginning. In 1992 Steve established SDS Commercial, and the following year developed his first industrial real estate project.

Presently, Steve’s focus is exclusively commercial development for his personal portfolio. His scope of work has moved beyond industrial properties to include office, retail, historic restoration of distressed properties, and industrial distribution centers throughout the U.S. To date he has developed over 1.25 million square feet of real estate, with a total market value of over $155,000,000.

Steve is a board member at RiverBank in Spokane and a member of the National Assoc. of Realtors. When not working Steve spends time with his wife, children, and grandchildren.

Carlos began his Commercial Real Estate career in Spokane in 2006, joining SDS Commercial in 2010. Prior to real estate, Carlos worked for 18 years in the aircraft industry. His professional positions included Vice President and General Manager of Brice Manufacturing, an Aircraft Seat Manufacturer in Pacoima, CA, as well as leadership posts in engineering and operations with Rohr Industries, United Airlines, Northwest Airlines, and International Aero.

Presently, Carlos is the General Manager of SDS Commercial, overseeing brokerage operations, property management, project development, accounting, and office administration. He also negotiates leases and renewals for over 600,000 square feet of real estate owned by Steve Schmautz and himself or managed by SDS Commercial. His business experience in manufacturing prepared him well for this multi-faceted position. Additionally, his early training in engineering has provided key advantages to SDS Commercial as he is often called on for complex tasks, like facilitating environmental site assessments or navigating tax incentive financing.

Carlos graduated with a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo and is fluent in both English and Spanish. In addition to a busy real estate career, Carlos loves to water ski, does a great impression of Seinfeld’s “Kramer”, and enjoys time with his wife, children, and a beautiful granddaughter.

Industrial Specialist

A native of Spokane, Mike graduated from WSU with a B.S. in Construction Management. He worked eight years as a project manager for a large development company in San Diego, managing office and industrial building projects. During that time he also developed custom home projects in San Diego county. After returning to the Inland Northwest Mike began his career in real estate, brokering waterfront property for 11 years before joining SDS Commercial in 2001.

As an SDS Commercial broker, Mike has specialized in industrial leasing and sales. To date, he has sold and leased nearly 1,000,0000 square feet of commercial property and land sales for a total dollar volume of $10,000,000. He has also continued to leverage his early experience in construction management through the development of over 400 residential building lots, as well as over 100,000 square feet of office, retail, industrial, and multi-family property for his personal portfolio.

In his spare time Mike and his wife, Karen, are avid fly fishermen, enjoy backcountry skiing and bicycling, and raise cattle and horses. They have two children, both now at university, who they miss and love to talk about.

Office Specialist
Industrial Tenant Representation

Vic began his career in commercial real estate in 2000 at SDS Commercial, specializing in the office market. Since 2013 Vic has expanded his scope of expertise beyond the regional market. Besides local sales and leasing in the Spokane office marketplace, he also offers industrial tenant representation services, handling lease transactions and land acquisitions throughout the U.S.

Vic earned a B.A. in English from Eastern Washington University, holds a SIOR designation and is a CCIM candidate. He has served as President of the Trader’s Club of Spokane and as Director of the Inland Empire Rental Association.

In his free time, Vic loves traveling with his wife and son. He also enjoys water skiing, golf, fishing, and pheasant hunting.

Transactions of note:
Leases:
Distribution Center, Omaha, NE: 125,000 sf
Distribution Center, Spokane, WA: 64,800 sf
Distribution Center, Minneapolis, MN: 200,000 sf
Distribution Center, Spokane, WA: 250,000 sf
Distribution Center, Denver, CO: 200,000 sf
Distribution Center, Wilsonville, OR: 105,000 sf
Distribution Center, Litchfield, NH: 36,200 sf
Office Lease, Tualatin, OR: 21,350 sf
Office Lease, Spokane, WA: 9,536 sf

Sales:
Industrial Land Sale, Spokane, WA: 19.48 acres - $1,700,000
Office Building Sale, Spokane, WA: 59,406 sf - $1,300,000
Warehouse Sale, Spokane, WA: 25,968 sf - $960,000
Office Warehouse Sale, Spokane, WA: 10,500 sf - $990,000
Office Condo Sale, Spokane, WA: 8,459 sf - $760,000
Office Building Sale, Spokane, WA: 9,039 sf - $1,000,000

Multi-family Specialist

Jay began selling commercial real estate in 1991, directly out of university, joining SDS Commercial in 1992. He specialized in multi-family from the very beginning and is presently considered a regional expert in that segment of the real estate market. Since then he has facilitated hundreds of multi-family buy/sell/exchange transactions for clients in the Spokane area. He has also acquired a significant personal portfolio of multi-family properties, purchasing existing projects as well as new development. With the breadth of his experience and this long-term focus on the multi-family marketplace, Jay is able to provide superior service and expertise to his clients.

Jay is a native of North Idaho and graduated from U of I with a B.A. in Finance. He has also earned the CCIM-101 Commercial Investment Analysis Designation. In addition to serving his extensive client base, Jay has been involved in the Washington Association of Commercial Realtors, Spokane Association of Realtors, National Association of Realtors, Landlord Association of the Inland Northwest, and the Spokane Trader's Club. 

When not working, Jay takes advantage of the four seasons climate of our beautiful area. Favorites include snow skiing, water skiing, fishing, mountain biking, distance running, and golf.

Retail & Investment Specialist

A Spokane native, Levi graduated from SCC with an A.A.S. in Electrical Maintenance & Programming and worked as an electrician the following 4 years. However, he became attracted to commercial real estate while watching his father and grandfather who were developers of commercial property in the Spokane region and was eventually drawn away from the technical field. Levi began brokering commercial real estate in 2006 and joined SDS Commercial in 2008 as a retail & investment specialist.

Levi’s client list includes a variety local companies including: Brother’s Office Pizza, NW Beauty Supply, Heritage Bar & Grill, Jimmy John’s, Shamus’ Sandwich Shoppe, Flamin’ Joe’s, State Farm and Mountain Lakes Brewery. He has also completed transactions with several national chains as follows: Walgreens, Little Caesar’s, Sonic Burger, Sprint, US Cellular, Firehouse Subs, Eye Mart, Country Financial, Gymboree, Merry Maids, Harbor Freight Tools, Jackson Hewitt, Therapeutic Associates, Rodda Paint, Sally Beauty, Subway, Wild Birds Unlimited, CPR Cell Phone Repair, Mathnasium, and a wide range of commercial investors.

Levi holds a CCIM-101 Commercial Investment Analysis Designation; is a licensed pilot, and is a member of The Spokane Traders Club. In his free time, he enjoys upland hunting; dirt biking; water skiing; and spending time with his wife Lauren, and daughter Pyper.

Heather was raised in Wisconsin, bringing the Midwestern values of neighborliness and hard work with her when she moved to Spokane. Her degree in Interior Design, with a focus in Computer-Aided Drafting & Space Planning, has afforded a variety of professional opportunities. Heather has worked in typical areas of the industry such as kitchen/bath design and as an on-site project manager in new home construction. She has also been tasked with unusual opportunities, such as implementing a CAD redesign of the specification manuals while working for a large cabinet manufacturer. More recently she worked in the digital/tech industry, in a quality assurance role for a developer of electronic gaming tables.

Heather’s early training and varied experience have given her insight to the entire development process, allowing her to execute the role of project manager in a unique way. She can be involved in design vision both in CAD and on-site, while also helping to develop repeatable processes that increase productivity and reduce errors. Her design background also helps clients feel at ease as she is able to understand their vision and help execute the goal.

In her free time, Heather enjoys glamping in the beautiful Pacific NW, mothering her two rescue mutts, leisurely bike rides, and the Green Bay Packers. She also holds a black belt in Kenpo Karate.

One of those smart kids, Melissa graduated a year early from Hamilton High School and attended her first two years of college in Montana before moving to Spokane. She found a job as Office Manager for a rental car agency and began teaching herself bookkeeping on the Quickbooks platform. While working full-time she attended night classes at ITT Tech, earning a B.S. in Electronics & Communications Engineering Technology in 2008.

In 2007 Melissa accepted a position in the gaming industry as a product support representative. She was promoted to Manufacturing & Compliance Administrator where her duties included building and maintaining machines, training, technician troubleshooting, coordinating lab testing, and licensing. She was also given the opportunity to be lead creator on an asset/customer tracking database. She worked closely with all departments of the company: manufacturing, product support, sales, quality assurance, software development & accounting.

In 2015 her work hours were reduced due to changes in the gaming industry. Melissa started her own bookkeeping business and, in 2016, joined SDS Commercial on a part-time basis. This arrangement has offered Melissa the flexibility to spend more time with her babies, son Eoghan and daughter Everlee. She is an integral part of the accounting team, with her main duty being the monthly accounts payable and accounts receivable for each commercial property. She is also involved in tracking and reporting financials and project activity for our development an property management teams.

In her free time, which doesn’t really exist when you have little ones, Melissa and her husband, Jason, enjoy camping and wine/beer tasting festivals. Melissa also enjoys sewing and making quilts, jewelry making, and teaching skin care classes.

One of seven children, Penny was born and raised on a Wisconsin dairy farm. Her dad, the hardest working person she’s ever known, modeled an exceptional life and work ethic. She was the first in her family to attend college, receiving an A.A.S.

After graduating Penny went to work in the field of professional helping, working as a certified nursing assistant, a counselor at residential youth facilities, and a foster care case aide among other positions. Penny always held more than one job at a time. Next, after completing the pre-requirements for nursing school she was hired by Riverside School District as a para-educator, assisting with medically fragile children. She loved this job and stayed for 12 years. In 2018 SDS Commercial discovered her and hired her away.

Penny brings many skills to her role as Facilities Supervisor. She loves to work hard and manage deadlines, motivating her staff to effectively meet the needs of our owners and tenants. She truly enjoys people and appreciates being of service to those who work in our buildings. She also loves to learn new things, and her role at SDS Commercial offers endless opportunity in that regard.

Penny’s most treasured gift is her family, and when she is not working she is spending time with her husband, step-son, and daughter. They love to be in the mountains, riding horses and huckleberry picking. Penny also loves running and being with her family at home.