James Ellison
Compass Commercial
San Francisco, CA 94109
Land Director + Business Development
Phone (415) 874-5045
Mobile (415) 300-5457
Land Director + Business Development
Specialties
Investment Sales Broker, Tenant Rep
Property Types
Land, Retail, Multifamily, Health Care
Markets
San Francisco
Bio
One of my favorite things to do at work is brainstorm with intelligent, talented and ambitious people. I grew up immersed in a similar stimulating environment with a great man—my father. Living under the same roof with a talented baseball player inspired me to be a dedicated entrepreneur with a love for sports.
First a B.A. in English from University of California, Davis laid the foundation, followed by my wife and her father, who has become my mentor in real estate investment. Quite simply, the influence of not one, but two father figures has shaped my career. Winning a professional golf tournament tops my list of things I want to achieve; however developing sustainable and design-conscience communities represent another sizable passion.
With real estate on my mind since I graduated college, I have had the opportunity as a land acquisition specialist and as the co-founder of Modern Dwelling in Seattle, Washington to close $45+ million in transactions. Translated into real estate terms, this represents the creation of roughly 780 new housing units citywide. My core competency is small-lot infill, mixed-use housing and transit-oriented development projects, where creativity takes precedence over normality.
Having a keen eye for opportunity and land speculation, I migrated to Oklahoma City to create my own development company focusing on downtown housing in one of the most up-and-coming cities in the country. I also served as the Vice Chairman of the Modern Transit Project and as an Executive Committee Member with the Oklahoma ULI chapter.
Before long, my roots called me back to Northern California where yet another pivotal alliance has been formed; this time with Paragon Developer Services. It`s a grand union of experience and enthusiasm with boundless potential. My analytic mind, communication skills and insatiable curiosity are being put to good use on a daily basis, adding value and expertise to the acquisition, development, and sales/marketing process.
Education
