James Hough

Owner-side development and project leader with 15+ years of experience spanning acquisition, feasibility, design coordination, entitlement, budgeting, and execution planning. Directed a 2 million-square-foot mixed-use development, managed a 1 million-square-foot commercial portfolio, and led multidisciplinary teams of up to ten. Combines financial discipline with hands-on coordination of consultants, partners, property teams, and public agencies.

Managing Principal at Elk Creek Holdings LLC (2021-01 – Present)

• Lead owner-side development of a 2.8-acre mountain residential project from acquisition through planning and preconstruction, defining scope, phasing, budget, risks, and execution strategy.

• Coordinate design, civil engineering, and planning consultants; evaluate site requirements, design alternatives, costs, and constructability considerations in support of entitlement and project readiness.

• Build development budgets and scenario analyses to guide capital allocation, cost control, sequencing, and value creation.

• Evaluate modular construction, building systems, and emerging technologies as potential project-delivery solutions.

• Managed a 1 million-square-foot commercial portfolio, including capital and operating budgets, lease-related improvements, and coordination among property teams, brokers, counsel, and advisors.

• Directed a 2 million-square-foot mixed-use development from acquisition and feasibility through master-plan and site-plan approvals, coordinating consultants, agencies, partners, and stakeholders.

• Led a ten-person multidisciplinary project team, managing priorities, parallel workstreams, issues, and alignment across investment, design, planning, finance, and consultants.

• Prepared business plans, budgets, cost forecasts, financial models, and value-engineering analyses; achieved a 130% return and created $115 million in project value.

• Raised $60 million in capital and secured a $47 million acquisition loan, coordinating due diligence, financing, and execution.

• Negotiated leases, renewals, tenant improvement allowances, and commercial terms while balancing scope, cost, schedule, and asset performance.

• Managed a strategic development partnership with EYA LLC and communicated project status, risks, and priorities to senior stakeholders.

• Evaluated structured financial products, including CMBS and ABS, and developed cash-flow estimation and stress-testing analyses to assess investment structures, costs, and financial risk.

• Managed asset-liability management model-validation engagements for major financial institutions and performed market-risk data analysis supporting senior decision-making.

• Conducted industry and company research and built financial valuation models to support investment recommendations and strategic analysis.

Master of Science in Computational Finance – Tepper School of Business, Carnegie Mellon University (2010-12)

Master of Science in Mathematics (Statistics / Data Science) – University of Illinois Chicago (2008-12)

Bachelor of Science in Physics – Nanjing University (2005-12)