About Us

The EDWARD R. JAMES COMPANIES are privately held companies engaged in real estate development, homebuilding and investments. The Companies represent the evolution of a family-owned business that has spanned more than six decades and three generations. The operating entities, Edward R. James Partners, Edward R. James Homes, and E.R. James Realty provide an array of fully integrated design, land development, construction, sales and marketing services to the development partnerships established for each project.

The Edward R. James Companies and their affiliates have completed communities and projects in Illinois, Wisconsin, Michigan, Minnesota and Florida. Current and former investment partners and clients include Fortune Two Hundred publicly traded companies, multi-national investment funds, and high-net worth investors.

The Companies’ development activities begin with the focused selection of highly desirable locations that provide long-term value and a competitive advantage in the marketplace. Securing entitlements for these unique locations is predicated on the Companies’ track-record and reputation for high quality architectural design, environmentally sensitive land planning, hardscape amenities, and landscaping that distinguish each development, home and community.

The Companies employ an integrated array of processes, procedures, and controls refined over decades of successful small and large scale developments that include high-rise, mid-rise, multi-family and single family communities, as well as special purpose, commercial and mixed-use planned developments. This integration facilitates the delivery of on-time and on-budget projects, while offering a unique level of customization that adds superior customer value and competitive differentiation. Most importantly, the Companies’ people, and the core values that inform their actions constitute the foundation for the Companies’ reputation and the ability to sustain the Companies’ mission of creating exceptional homes and places that enhance the lives of their customers and the communities in which they build.

The James Difference

A Privately-Owned, Values-Driven Business Spanning More Than 60 Years.

As a family-owned business, our name and reputation are on the line with every home and community we build. We make decisions based on the long-term impact to our reputation—not simply the bottom-line. The quality of your experience, the enjoyment of your home, and the community impact we make reflect core values and a development philosophy that have guided our success for more than six decades.

Mission and Core Values:

Our mission is to enhance the quality of life for our residents and the communities in which we build. We do this by dedicating ourselves to excellence in each phase of the development process and adhering to the core beliefs and values that underpin our approach to development and homebuilding.

• We believe that community development and homebuilding are more than bricks and mortar. They are about building to the land, not on it; with land plans and infrastructure that respect and protect the environment; with architecture that is imaginative, yet contextual and timeless; and with landscaping and hardscape that integrates and augments to create a whole that is greater than the sum of its parts.
• We believe in decisions and actions guided by three rules: Treating others the way we would want to be treated; doing the “right thing” not the easy or expedient; and thinking long-term.
• For our residents, we understand that their homes are an expression of their aspirations and preferences; our goal is to provide each customer with a home that expresses those qualities in a way that is uniquely theirs.
• For the communities in which we work, we believe in the importance of contributing to a community rather than taking from it, leaving it better off when we are finished than when we began.
• Our success hinges on teamwork and an individual dedication to excellence from every person that shapes the outcome—from our company colleagues, our professionals, to our trade partners and the vendors we work with.
• Excellence is achieved through an uncompromising care for and attention to detail, as an expression of the integrity of each individual team member.
• We believe in learning from the past and measuring success based on what we do now and in the future for our customers the communities we work with, and our partners.
• We believe that a “place” is defined by how people experience it. Our job is to imagine, design, build and deliver homes and communities that enhance the way our customers live, interact with each other, and with Nature.