James has formed his own private development and investmentcompany, J4 Investments LLC, but says he felt his work with DPwould offer benefits for both his new venture and his career. "DPhas a great national reputation and they were committed to growingin Chicago," James says. "I was committed to doing something on myown, but after spending time with these guys, it just felt like anatural fit."

James comes to DP after seven years as an SVP with the Chicagooffice of Indianapolis-based Duke Realty Corp. "At Duke, I was ableto increase the Duke brand in Chicago from two million to sevenmillion sf," James says.

DP entered the Chicago market in 2003, when it purchased 300acres for an industrial park in Rochelle, IL, and where a yearlater it built a 580,000-sf spec distribution center. The property,along with the rest of a 24.7-million-sf portfolio held by DP andthe California State Teachers Retirement System, was sold to aProLogis fund in July 2007 for about $1.8 billion, James says. "Itwas an unbelievable deal," he says, freeing up capital that willallow the company to reallocate more of its assets into Chicagomarket investments.