'Never let money come between you and your family, or your reputation'

An interview with Jerry James, president of Edward R. James Companies in Glenview.

Q: Tell us about the business.

A: Edward R. James Companies is a homebuilder and developer that has been creating communities throughout Chicago and the North Shore over the past six decades. Today, under the leadership of the founder's grandson, Jerry S. James, the firm is developing Westgate at The Glen, a 171-unit community that represents the final residential parcel located at the former Glenview Naval Air Station, where the firm built one of the first residential communities, Southgate on The Glen.

Edward R. James Companies is also building Brighton Mews, a 29-unit townhouse community in the heart of Park Ridge that is within walking distance to the Shoppes of Uptown, which was also developed by Edward R. James Companies.

Q: What about the history. How did the business start?

A: Jeremiah James established J.S. James & Company in the late 1940s, developing some of Chicago's first apartment high-rises along Sheridan Road in the Edgewater neighborhood.

When Jeremiah died in 1958, his sons Edward and Kenneth took over the business, completing numerous award-winning communities over the years, including: Lake Barrington Shores, a 1300-unit Master Planned Golf Course Community; 1110 Lake Shore Drive, a 40-story luxury high-rise overlooking Chicago's Oak Street Beach; and, Tangley Oaks and Armour Woods, a 200-acre master planned community. In the mid-1980s, the third generation of the James family joined the business, continuing the family's traditions, development philosophy and values.

Q: Tell us about some of your high profile projects.

A: We have tackled luxury lakefront high-rises, golf course master-planned communities, mixed-use suburban infill properties, a marina and second-home vacation residences. The development activity has occurred in Illinois, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Michigan and Florida.

Notable projects include 1110 Lake Shore Drive overlooking Oak Street Beach; Lake Barrington Shores, a 520-acre, 1,308-unit master-planned community; 1630 Sheridan Road, an iconic, curved 10-story co-op overlooking Lake Michigan in Wilmette; Southgate and Westgate at the Glen, encompassing 470 homes at The Glen, the 1,100-acre award-winning redevelopment of the former Glenview Naval Air Station; and The Residences and Shoppes of Uptown, an award-winning mix of retail, condos, rowhomes and townhouses on approximately 5.5 acres in the heart of downtown Park Ridge.

Q: Running a family business can be tough. Tell us one tip that helped you get through.

A: Never let money come between you and your family, or your reputation.

Q: Tell us one fact about the business that most would not know.

A: It was started by an immigrant refugee from the Old World, Jeremiah James, who came to America with no money and no English. He learned to be a mason in San Francisco before coming to Chicago to start his own company, which would subsequently build several of Chicago's first high-rises along Sheridan Road, in the Edgewater Beach neighborhood. He lived the American dream, and his love for this country was exceeded only by his love for his family and his friends.

Q: What's hot in the industry?

A: Apartment rentals. Those were the first (and only) types of properties completed by the company's founder.

Q: What is your business motto?

A: A tradition of excellence … creating exceptional homes and exceptional places for the customers we serve, our residents, and the communities in which we work.

- Kim Mikus