James J. Cordano Company

James J. Cordano Sr. (October 3, 1904-February 23, 2003)

James J. Cordano Sr. was the founder of the James J. Cordano Co. and a pioneer in the shopping center industry. He came from humble beginnings as a first-generation Italian immigrant from a small village near Genoa, Italy. His initial introduction to the real estate business, as a young man, was as a rent collector in the Sacramento area, where he supported his mother and younger brothers.

During the 1930s and 1940s, he became one of the West Coast’s leading retail chain store brokers. In the 1950s, he developed one of the first recognized suburban regional shopping malls in California. Mr. Cordano was an early member of the International Council of Shopping Centers, having joined in 1966.

Professionals at all levels of the company are committed to the high standards of integrity, honesty, and hard work established over 100 years ago by James J. Cordano, Sr.

James J. Cordano Jr. is Chairman Emeritus of the James J. Cordano Co. and the managing member of Cordano Capital, a real estate private equity and asset management firm. Mr. Cordano has over 60 years of experience in retail development, asset management, and chain store leasing.

Mr. Cordano joined the firm in 1965 and promptly went on to oversee the firm’s involvement as a development partner with the Ernest W. Hahn Company, which included the development of three regional enclosed malls. Subsequently,  he went on to develop a number of regional enclosed malls in Northern California and the Pacific Northwest.

Mr. Cordano received a Bachelor of Science in Real Estate from the University of Arizona.

James J. Cordano, III is President of the James J. Cordano Co.  He has worked in every aspect of the firm’s business, including development, asset management, finance, leasing, and corporate strategy.  He is a principal in the firm and has directly overseen all of its development and operating activities for the past 25 years.

Prior to joining the company full-time, he was an attorney with the Sacramento law firm Hefner, Stark & Marois.  His primary area of practice was real estate transactions and complex land use matters.

Mr. Cordano graduated from the University of Southern California, where he earned a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration with an emphasis in Real Estate Finance.  He received his Juris Doctor degree with Distinction from the University of the Pacific, McGeorge School of Law, and is an alumnus of the Harvard Graduate School of Design Executive Education Program (AMDP).

In addition to his role in the firm, he has served on a wide variety of boards, including as a founding Board member of a Sacramento- based community bank.  He is a California Licensed Real Estate Broker, and is a member of the State Bar of California, the International Council of Shopping Centers, LAI Land Economics Society and the Urban Land Institute.