James Ratkovich

Biografía: Mr. Ratkovich joined Salem Partners in 2014 as a Managing Director of Salem’s real estate equity and development platform. Leadership in large scale development, finance and urban design mark his three decades in the real estate industry. Mr. Ratkovich has planned, developed, redeveloped, financed and managed a diverse array of large scale projects throughout the West Coast and Hawaii. This experience spans a variety of property types, including multifamily residential, hospitality, commercial, industrial, historic rehabilitation, mixed-use and luxury resort properties. Large scale entitlement successes include lead roles in the formation of several urban design planning efforts, including the Alameda District Plan in downtown Los Angeles, the Long Beach Pike Plan in downtown Long Beach, and most recently, the entitlement of the first Transit Oriented Development project in the history of the State of Hawaii. In late 2013, Mr. Ratkovich initiated the acquisition and re-entitlement of Hawaii’s first Transit Oriented Development (TOD) project. Mr. Ratkovich, in conjunction with Salem partner Bill Witte, assembled a 50,000 sf site adjacent to the Hawaii Convention Center, directly across the Ala Wai Canal from Waikiki. This property would soon be targeted as a catalytic site within the Ala Moana TOD District Plan. Mr. Ratkovich assembled a team of architects and consultants in order to pursue the first ever TOD zoning bonus awarded in the State of Hawaii. The team took a blighted property and re-entitling the assembled site for an iconic 800,000 sf hotel and condominium project, reaching over 400 feet in height. This project, currently named Mana`olana Place, will be the primary transformational force behind the future success of the Ala Moana TOD District Plan. Currently, Mr. Ratkovich is leading an effort to re-entitle and redevelop a nearby site within the Ala Moana TOD District that will include another 800,000 sf of high-rise, mixed-use development. Mr. Ratkovich is past chairman and current vice-chairman of a national Urban Land Institute (ULI) product council (Urban Development Mixed-Use Green), has served on ULI’s Hurricane Katrina taskforce in Pascagoula, Mississippi, as well as ULI’s Transit Oriented Development Advisory Services taskforce for the Lake Norman Transportation Commission in Charlotte, North Carolina. He is a member of Smart Growth America, LOCUS, and Real Estate Conference Group. Mr. Ratkovich graduated with a BS from San Diego State University, is a licensed real estate broker in the State of California, held a California Certified General Appraiser’s License for over 2 decades, is a frequent conference panelist and guest lecturer for various real estate organizations, and is a past board member for Alternative Living for the Aging.