JF Real Estate

JF Real Estate was founded in 1992 by John Funiciello, working out of downtown Syracuse at a time when the city looked very different than it does today. More than three decades later, the firm is still here, still downtown, and still doing the work that shapes how this region grows.

They are not a typical brokerage. JF and its affiliated companies cover the full range of real estate services: brokerage, tenant and owner representation, site selection, space planning, architecture, design, construction, development, financing, and property management. They currently represent approximately 3 million square feet of commercial space and over 175 apartments across greater Syracuse.

The buildings they work in are not abstractions. They are places people in this region know by name. 2 Clinton Square, where JF has been headquartered for decades. One Franklin Square. 100 East Washington. 250 Harrison, now being redeveloped into something new. JF has had a hand in all of it.

That is what 30 years of showing up looks like.

Payten Shirley is not someone who waited for a path to open up. She made one.

She joined JF Real Estate as an intern in 2023 while finishing her undergraduate degree at Syracuse University's Whitman School of Management. She graduated in 2024 with a triple major in Marketing, Management, and Real Estate, then came on full time. She holds her New York State Real Estate Salesperson license.

Her main focus at JF is ShareCuse, the firm's coworking space. She has helped grow it from its early stages to 35 offices across over 11,000 square feet, managing both the leasing and day-to-day operations of the space. Alongside that, she handles sales and leasing for JF's broader commercial and residential portfolio.

She grew up in this region, went to school here, and chose to stay. That is not a small thing. The 315 keeps the people who decide to build something here, and Payten is building something here.

She is JF Real Estate's point of contact for 315NY, and exactly the kind of person this platform exists to put a name to.

Real estate is where regional growth shows up first. Before the new restaurant opens, before the business gets its first customer, before a family figures out which school district they are moving into, someone signs a lease. JF Real Estate is often in that room.

That gives them a view of Central New York that very few people have. They know which corridors are filling up and which ones are not. They know where Micron's incoming workforce is landing and what they are looking for when they get here. They know what downtown Syracuse looks like from the inside of a deal, not just from the street.

315NY is building a platform for the people who live and work in this region. JF Real Estate has spent 30 years serving them. That is not a coincidence. That is the right founding partner.