"Jim is as good at knowing who ‘Garcia’ is as anyone I have ever known. Not only does he know who he is, he can pick him out of a crowd a mile away. He just has some of the best instincts I’ve ever seen. That’s something you can’t teach, and it’s a major part of why we have had so much success investing, partnering and working with him over the last twenty years. He just figures out a way to get it done, no matter what.”
James D. Klingbeil, Sr.
Founder & Ret. CEO, Klingbeil Capital Management, ltd.
“We worked with Wills Creek on a very complex deal with major land use and entitlement issues, as well as a difficult seller, Jim and his team were essential in navigating the risks, and very accurately quantified our potential returns in a rigorous due diligence timeline. We felt like we didn’t have an adviser, but a local partner that intimately knew the politics and the business issues at hand.”
Michael DeAscentis
Co-Founder & CEO, Lifestyle Communities
“Jim and I started our real estate careers as partners back in the mid 90’s. Over the last twenty-five years we have trusted his advice. Wills Creek is uniquely qualified through its first-hand experience to help us navigate the immense challenges we face developing complex mixed-use brownfield sites. They deliver tremendous value by helping us think through the whole development process, so we aren’t fixing problems …. we’re avoiding them. Whether as a partner or serving us in an advisory role - they add tremendous value."
Mark Wagenbrenner
Founder & President, Thrive Companies
“Jim and I started our entrepreneurial journeys together when we met through YEO. He is one of the smartest, savviest and hardest working professionals I have had firsthand experience with over the last 25 years of being in business. Jim strives to create sensible, profitable win-win deals for all involved parties. He will tell it like it is and he doesn’t pull any punches."
Randy Gerber
Founder, Business Owner, Adviser & Partner to First Generation Entrepreneurs
“I have known Jim since graduate school at Ga. Tech and we worked together for Skanska in the early 1990s, then again 20+ years later at Rockbridge when he recruited me to that team. While at Rockbridge together he led our ground up real estate development efforts. He and his team achieved swift success on every entitlement and public incentive assignment they undertook. In every case we achieved our approvals with unanimous votes from the governing bodies. Much of this work was done in some of the toughest entitlement markets in the country - Charleston, Savanna, Ann Arbor. Jim’s a non-linear thinker who simply finds a way to get it done.
John H. Pinholster
COO, Rockbridge Hotel Development
"Jim and I worked together for about 10 years, we still invest together and talk weekly. He is one of the smartest, hardest working individuals I have encountered in my career. He has tremendous ability to assess the economics of a transaction and capture value."
Kevin Kaz
CFO Klingbeil Capital Management, ltd.
“We hired Wills Creek on a highly complex transaction. Jim’s unparalleled expertise was invaluable to the successful outcome of this transaction. He was instrumental in bringing our leadership team into total alignment and we are grateful for his guidance and professionalism throughout the entire process.”
Michael Aamodt
CFO - Lifestyle Communities