OUR COMPANY HISTORY

Based in Northbrook, Illinois, a suburban area north of Chicago, the firm was originally formed in 1975, a time when the shopping center industry was dominated by closely held development companies. Discovering that service providers to the shopping center industry tended to be real estate generalists, JKC set out to provide a higher level of professional asset and property management services to private and institutional investors within this specialized project type and grew to become one of the Chicago area's largest fee-based managers of retail use properties.

In early 1995, the third party management portfolio of James Kaplan Companies, LLC was acquired by FRAIN CAMINS & SWARTCHILD Oncor International, which itself was acquired by Insignia/ESG shortly thereafter. Mr. Kaplan joined the firm as a senior vice president and remained until all aspects of property management operations were fully integrated.

Seeking a more entrepreneurial environmental, James Kaplan Companies, LLC was re-established in November of 1996.  Today, JKC invests in and manages net leased investment grade and “convenience oriented” necessity retail real estate.   In specific advisory situations, experience and intellectual capital are contributed toward the analysis, planning, development/redevelopment, and asset management of retail use properties.