Jim Kumon oversees design coordination, construction management and business management activities for Heirloom Properties.  He coordinates the building design and construction process with an eye towards achieving deep energy efficiency and sustainability goals, rooted in his experience as a LEED accredited professional.  He has more than ten years of small business and nonprofit executive management expertise in the industry.

Jim is also Principal at Electric Housing, a private consulting firm that builds upon work he started as Executive Director and Co-Founder of Incremental Development Alliance. The practice supports developers and cities who want to encourage small-scale real estate development in their community.  Through his collaboration program Developer in Residence, he trains and mentors non-profit and for profit professionals in the built environment through all stages of design, finance and construction for middle scale housing 1-20 units in size on urban infill lots across the county.  His work spans the country in the northern climate zones from the inland Northeast, Midwest and Mountain West from with particular long term engagements with the cities of Kalamazoo, MI and South Bend, IN. 

Jim has an undergraduate degree in Architecture from the University of Michigan, and over 15 years of experience in the design and construction industries in Los Angeles, Denver and Minneapolis. Previously, Jim worked as a project manager in architecture firms where he planned, designed and executed private sector multi-family and public sector buildings.  Prior to starting IncDev, Jim was the Executive Director at Strong Towns. As a past board member of the Kingfield Neighborhood Association and chair of the Kingfield Redevelopment Committee for the past nine years, Jim has been closely involved with development projects at the neighborhood level in Minneapolis.