Real Estate Exec Named New Property Manager

A veteran real estate executive will take over as Harvard’s manager of property, including new land in Allston, the University announced early last month.

James W. Gray is a 14-year veteran of the Duke Realty Corporation, a leading real estate company ranked 12th on the “Who’s Who in the Buildings Market 2003,” right below Home Depot Inc.

At Duke Realty, Gray was senior vice president and general manager of Minneapolis operations and senior vice president and general manager of the Cincinnati office.

Gray said he feels his time at Duke Realty prepared him well for Harvard’s burgeoning real estate portfolio.

“We didn’t have any residential properties, which is quite different, but on a square footage basis I’d say the size [of the total land managed] is similar,” Gray said.

Gray replaces Sara Oseasohn, the director of financial services for Harvard Planning and Real Estate (HPRE), who served as the interim vice president of Harvard Real Estate Services. Oseasohn took on that role when HPRE was split into two branches last year. Its former head, Kathy Spielgelman, became the director of Harvard Planning and the Allston Initiative.

For the moment, Gray said he is working to acquaint himself with Harvard’s properties in Cambridge and beyond.

“[Harvard’s portfolio] is very big, and so one of the first things I’m doing is touring it, doing walking tours of our property in Cambridge and in Allston, and in other areas, because there is more,” Gray said.

Gray is not involved in the planning of the controversial Allston campus, though he said he is working “very closely” with Spiegelman’s team, which is currently devoted to the planning of the project.

“The planning of Allston is on [Spiegelman’s] plate. Our people get involved in the institution and managing of the Allston project, but not the planning. We do manage all the property already purchased in Allston,” Gray said.