Douglas Jemal
Douglas Jemal | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | Douglas Jemal November 30, 1942 Brooklyn, New York City, New York, US |
| Occupation | Real estate developer |
| Known for |
|
| Spouse | Joyce Gordon |
| Children | 6 |
Douglas Jemal (born November 30, 1942) is an American real estate developer, landlord, and the founder of Douglas Development.[1]
Jemal first worked in electronics retailing, like his father. However, in 1993, he sold his interests in retail and began investing in real estate in the Washington metropolitan area. In 2016, he began focusing on real estate investments in Buffalo, New York.
Biography
[edit]Jemal was born to a Syrian Jewish family in south Brooklyn, one of four sons and two daughters of Norman Jemal and Sally Chira, a discount retailer in lower Manhattan.[2][3] He attended David Boody Jr. High School but dropped out at age 15, during the 9th grade.[4] He then worked odd jobs such as auction house runner, a delivery driver, and sold items on 14th Street during the Christmas shopping season.[4] He joined his father's business at age 18, but 5 years later, he was bored and moved to Washington, D.C. to open his own store.[4]
Retail
[edit]In 1966, at age 23, he and his younger brother Lawrence Jemal opened a store called Bargaintown in Washington, D.C. on the current site of the Capital One Arena.[2] He set speakers outside the store to attract customers, and, after noise complaints, bought the building for $5,000.[4] In 1971, they opened a location at Iverson Mall[4] and closed the D.C. location.[5] In 1976, they returned to New York and along with two other brothers, Marvin Jemal and Stephen Jemal, founded Nobody Beats the Wiz (the name of their father's favorite Broadway musical), a discount electronics chain.[2] In 1980, he and Lawrence bought George's, a 15-store electronics chain in the Baltimore and Washington metropolitan area, from the estate of George Wasserman but sold it to Luskin's the following year.[6] Douglas sold his shares in the Wiz back to the family in 1993.[2]
Washington, D.C. real estate
[edit]Jemal invested the proceeds into real estate in the Washington metropolitan area, which was opportune as the city was in a down cycle.[3] His success was compounded by the fact that he recognized that retail was under-present in D.C., with half the national average of retail space per capita, and he focused his leasing efforts on high-end retailers, which would improve neighborhoods.[3]
In the early 1990s, he purchased the former Wonder Bread bakery on Georgia Avenue near Howard University for $4.5 million; he renovated and sold it for just under $18 million in 1993.[5] That year, he purchased the Park & Shop complex on Connecticut Avenue in Cleveland Park for $6 million; after attracting tenants, he sold it for $11 million in 1995.[5]
In 1993, Jemal and his brothers offered $150 million to buy the Baltimore Orioles but were outbid by Peter Angelos.[5]
By 2001, he owned approximately 70 buildings with an estimated value in the hundreds of millions of dollars.[5] These included 15 buildings on 7th Street between E and I Streets NW in Chinatown.[5]
In 2014, Jemal began redevelopment of the former Hecht's Warehouse in Ivy City into 300 apartments and 250,000 square feet of retail space.[7]
By 2019, he owed 200 properties.[8]
In December 2021, he sold two Marriott International hotels in Washington, D.C. to an investor group affiliated with the Marriott family for $152 million.[9]
Buffalo real estate
[edit]In 2016, Jemal purchased the vacant 38-story One Seneca Tower, the tallest building in Buffalo, for $12.6 million.[10][11] He redeveloped it at a cost of $150 million and by 2021, it was 80% leased.[4]
In 2020, he acquired the Statler City complex in Buffalo for redevelopment.[12]
In 2021, Jemal has announced the purchase of Buffalo's former police headquarters building near Niagara Square, paving the way for him to begin a $30 million redevelopment into a new set of downtown apartments, to be dubbed "The Police Apartments."[13]
In September 2021, Jemal announced plans to build a nine-story building at 61 Terrace Street.[14]
In 2021, Jemal acquired the 64-acre Boulevard Mall with plans to redevelop the property. He negotiated a long-term lease to operate and update the Hotel Henry on the Richardson Olmsted Complex, which was renamed The Richardson Hotel, and reopened in March 2023.[15][16]
In September 2021, he acquired the Hyatt Regency Buffalo.[17]
In October 2021, he acquired the Mahoney State Office Building at public auction for $4.1 million.[18] He listed it for sale in May 2025.[19]
In December 2022, he acquired the HSBC Atrium from HSBC for $9 million.[20]
In 2024, Jemal acquired One News Plaza (rented to The Buffalo News), an adjacent production facility, and the parking lot across Scott Street.[21]
Personal life
[edit]Jemal's sons Norman Jemal and Matthew Jemal are active in the real estate business.[22][23] His daughter, Kim Jemal Cayre, is married to the nephew of Joseph Cayre, a New York real estate developer and record producer.[3]
In 2020, Jemal purchased a $1.425 million house in the Nottingham Terrace area of Buffalo.[24]
Politics and pardon
[edit]Jemal has contributed to politicians of both major U.S. political parties but he has given more to Republicans. In 2016, he contributed $32,000 to the Republican National Committee and in 2020, he contributed $100,000 to the RNC. He contributed $2,700 to the Donald Trump 2016 presidential campaign. He is also friends with real estate developer Charles Kushner, whose son-in-law, Jared Kushner, is married to Ivanka Trump.[25]
On January 20, 2021, Jemal received a pardon for his 2008 wire fraud conviction from President Donald Trump.[26]
In December 2021, a denial of a liquor license for an associate of Jemal was reversed after it was noted that he contributed over $53,000 to the campaign of Governor of New York Kathy Hochul.[27]
Awards and recognition
[edit]In August 2014, Jemal received the Lifetime Achievement award from the District of Columbia Awards for Excellence in Historic Preservation.[28]
In December 2019, Jemal was inducted into the Washington Business Hall of Fame.[29]
Criticism and legal issues
[edit]Jamal has been criticized for often paying his contractors late to fund more real estate purchases.[3] Turnover was high in his company as superintendents were stressed.[3] He has been criticized for leaving derelict properties vacant rather than developing them and for asking for very high rents, forcing out long-standing local tenants.[2]
Jemal was accused or bribery for his relationship with Michael Lorusso, deputy director of D.C.'s Office of Property Management. Jemal bought Lorusso trips to Las Vegas, a Rolex watch, two pairs of $500 cowboy boots, and gave him $15,000 in cash. In 2002, Lorusso set up a deal whereby the D.C. government purchased an impound lot from Jemal for $12.5 million, nearly 10 times the amount Jemal paid for it just four years earlier. Lorusso also approved a $1 million lease payment to Jemal from the city. Despite Lorusso pleading guilty to bribery, Jemal was acquitted of bribery by a 12-person jury.[3]
In July 2006, Jemal was convicted of wire fraud for falsifying an invoice to withdraw money from a lender-held reserve, which he needed to buy another property.[1][3] This was all unbeknownst to his partner in the deal, Joseph Cayre, although Cayre defended Jemal in the legal proceedings.[3] Jemal was sentenced to a $175,000 fine and received five years probation, but no prison time.[3] The judge cited his charitable giving in the sentencing.[30][31]
References
[edit]- ^ a b Leonnig, Carol D.; Hedgpeth, Dana (October 27, 2006). "D.C. Jury Acquits Jemal of Bribery". The Washington Post.
- ^ a b c d e Elstein, Aaron (April 13, 2014). "Nobody Beats the Wiz family's fall". Crain Communications.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j Valdez, Angela (April 12, 2007). "The Right Stiff". Washington City Paper.
- ^ a b c d e f Fink, James (February 26, 2021). "Douglas Jemal: No. 1 of the Power 250 people in WNY". American City Business Journals.
- ^ a b c d e f Bailey, Holly (May 25, 2001). "Building a Mystery". Washington City Paper.
- ^ Seaberry, Jane (November 23, 1981). "Luskin's Buys George's D.C, Baltimore Stores". The Washington Post.
- ^ Sherwood, Tom (January 28, 2014). "Jemal Developing D.C.'s Historic Hecht's Warehouse". WRC-TV.
- ^ Banister, Jon (May 14, 2019). "Douglas Jemal On Pioneering Neighborhoods And Building A Family Business". Bisnow Media.
- ^ Sernovitz, Daniel J. (December 27, 2021). "Two D.C. hotels sell to investor group tied to Marriott family members". American City Business Journals.
- ^ Fink, James (September 29, 2016). "It's now official: One Seneca Tower has a new owner". American City Business Journals.
- ^ Fink, James (October 20, 2017). "CORE: Douglas Jemal and Seneca One Tower lead the region's development tally". American City Business Journals.
- ^ Lewis, Brandon (June 15, 2021). "New life coming to downtown Buffalo's Statler". Spectrum News.
- ^ "Douglas Jemal's The Police prepares to welcome its first wave of tenants". June 10, 2021.
- ^ "Developer Doug Jemal planning to build a nine-story apartment building in Downtown Buffalo". Audacy. September 13, 2021.
- ^ Russo, Jeff (July 29, 2021). "Jemal in "final stages" of negotiations to operate former Hotel Henry". WKBW-TV.
- ^ Epstein, Jonathan D. (June 9, 2021). "Douglas Jemal's Western New York holdings extend far and wide". The Buffalo News.
- ^ Epstein, Jonathan D. (September 29, 2021). "Douglas Jemal completes purchase of Hyatt Regency". The Buffalo News.
- ^ "Walter J. Mahoney State Office Building in Downtown Buffalo Sells for $4.1 Million at Auction" (Press release). New York State. October 7, 2021.
- ^ Fink, James (May 5, 2025). "Jemal puts Mahoney building on the market". WNED-TV.
- ^ Fink, James (December 9, 2022). "Douglas Jemal buys HSBC Atrium for $9 million". American City Business Journals.
- ^ Tierney, Jacob (March 20, 2024). "Douglas Jemal to buy downtown Buffalo News building". American City Business Journals.
- ^ Rothstein, Ethan (August 7, 2015). "DC's Top 10 Real Estate Dynasties Washington". Bisnow Media.
- ^ Sernovitz, Daniel J. (February 7, 2014). "The next Jemal - As Norman Jemal's profile rises at Douglas Development, he eschews the limelight". American City Business Journals.
- ^ Epstein, Jonathan D. (November 10, 2020). "Developer Douglas Jemal buys bigger mansion on Nottingham". The Buffalo News.
- ^ Scheer, Mark (May 27, 2021). "The politics of Doug Jemal". Investigative Post.
- ^ "Statement from the Press Secretary Regarding Executive Grants of Clemency". whitehouse.gov. January 20, 2021 – via National Archives and Records Administration.
- ^ Bragg, Chris (July 2, 2022). "Liquor license denial was quickly reversed for Hochul donor". Times Union.
- ^ "Past Recipients District of Columbia Awards for Excellence in Historic Preservation, 2003-2024" (PDF). Government of the District of Columbia.
- ^ Banister, Jon (December 5, 2019). "Douglas Jemal Inducted Into Washington Business Hall Of Fame". Bisnow Media.
- ^ Leonnig, Carol D. (April 18, 2007). "Jemal Avoids Prison For Fraud". The Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286.
- ^ Fruehling, Doug (April 17, 2007). "No jail time for Jemal". American City Business Journals.