Jim Dillavou

Principal & Co-Founder
Paragon Commercial Group
Commercial Developers

Jim Dillavou is co-founder and principal of Paragon Commercial Group where he focuses on corporate strategy, acquisitions and capital structuring. Paragon was founded in 2009 in the depth of the GFC to capitalize on the massive repricing of retail assets. Now, in 2021, at the crossroads of the “retail apocalypse” narrative and the post-COVID expansion of e-commerce, a second retail re-pricing is occurring which will once again provide outsized risk-adjusted investment opportunities. His background in development, law and capital markets has contributed to Paragon’s steady navigation of choppy retail waters and concurrent growth since its inception in 2009. Today Paragon enjoys a growing reputation as one of the preeminent retail development firms in California. Dillavou is formerly a real estate and finance attorney with Latham & Watkins LLP where he represented developers, equity providers and lenders in capital structuring, acquisitions, dispositions, leasing and entitlements.