JJ is a proven real estate executive and multifamily expert with more than $6.5 billion in development executed across 40 states and multiple countries. He has led multifamily and student housing development and management operations for over a decade and is experienced in bringing various stakeholders together to forge development plans that are financeable and buildable. With a keen eye for talent and a high degree of understanding of all facets of real estate development, he is one of the industry’s best team builders and personnel developers.
Since joining CRG in 2020, he has led the firm’s strategic entry into the student housing sector, recruited and hired some of the industry’s best and brightest, and has delivered a number of campus-adjacent, student housing high-rises at major flagship universities. Among the recently developed properties are Standard at Columbia (South Carolina), Dean Reno (Nevada), Chapter Madison (Wisconsin), and Chapter Eugene (Oregon).
In addition, JJ led the execution of Multifamily developments Broadway Chapter (Fort Worth, TX) and Chapter at the Streets (St Charles, MO) in the last few years while also adding pipeline opportunities throughout high-growth markets.
Before joining CRG in March 2020, JJ was with CA Ventures for 13 years, where he helped orchestrate the firm’s explosive growth from a small student housing start-up with under $100 million in assets into a global development and investment firm with over $12 billion in assets under management internationally across multiple real estate sectors. As the longest-tenured executive at CA Ventures, JJ oversaw the creation of over 40,000 units of housing representing more than $6 billion in real estate value creation while forming the various service departments and hiring the strategic leadership to execute that firm’s growth plans. He also started CA’s P3 (public-private partnerships) group.
Overall, JJ has completed more than 75 large-scale projects, including one million square feet of retail and 250 hotel keys at major flagship universities across North America. He originally trained as an architect focusing on mixed-use and residential projects and later added a master’s in business administration with a focus on real estate and finance to round out his skill set. He is a frequent speaker at many student housing conferences and is often a go-to resource for insights and trends in both the student housing and multifamily sectors.
AWARDS
Crains Chicago Business, 40 Under 40, 2018
Real Estate Forum, 40 Under 40, 2017
EDUCATION
Master of Business Administration, Real Estate Finance — University of Illinois at Chicago
Bachelor of Science, Architecture — University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign