Chinatown
Revitalization Just A Warm-Up by Jonah Keri, Staff Reporter
Whatever Doug Jemal does in 1999, take note. His gambles
have a way of paying off.
As head of Rockville-based Douglas Development Corp.,
Jemal likes to take chances on properties. The lead
tenant just moved out of the building? Great. The surrounding
area's in a down cycle? Fantastic. Need a company to
buy the building, renovate it and put it back out on
the market? Perfect.
"We're a development company first and foremost."
Jemal said. "We like a story, the stuff that challenges
your mind. I don't want to be just a coupon clipper.
I like taking risks."
That risk-taking strategy has paid off for Jemal since
he founded the business in 1990. He's turned profits
on everything from an old bakery in Northeast D.C. to
distressed properties in Prince George's and Montgomery
counties.
In 1998, Jemal seized on several opportunities that
seemed risky at the time. His announcement that he would
vie to bring a major league baseball team to the District
came despite past rumblings from baseball officials
that D.C. was too raw a market to field a team.
Now, with the Montreal Expos teetering towards a move,
the value of major league sports franchises skyrocketing
and D.C. in the midst of a revival, Jemal may find himself
in the driver's seat for a downtown franchise.
The biggest gamble of the bunch was a property at New
York and Florida avenues NE that Jemal is converting
into a mixed-use project featuring 300,000 square feet
of office space and 480,000 square feet of retail.
Though no one would come right out and say it, the question
on many real estate minds was : Why would anyone want
to work on New York Avenue, which hasn't seen any new
development since the mid-'80s?
Then Denver-based Qwest Communications, one of the nation's
largest long-distance phone companies, announced it
would set up a telecommunications center at a nearby
property on Eckington Place NE owned by District-based
Bernstein Cos.
Now, with the Jemal project's entire office component
and a large portion of the retail space slated for completion
this summer, Jemal's big gamble looks more like clairvoyance.
"He's an enterpreneur with vision," said Marc
Weiss of the D.C. Department of House and Community
Development.
"He's going to do well for this city in terms of
promoting economic development as well as doing well
for his own company. We want more people to invest in
the future development that's going to occur in all
of our neighborhoods, the way he has."
The numbers reflect Jemal's success. Once a one-man
business struggling to get off the ground, Jemal's firm
now has 60 employees and the company's owner is a force
on the D.C. landscape.
Jemal would not provide specific revenue figures, but
he said Douglas Development grew 50 percent in 1998
over the previous year and promises more growth in 1999.
"I'd say we did phenomenal this year," Jemal
said. "We did a lot of leasing and development,
real fun stuff. I've never had so much fun with my clothes
on than I did in 1998."
