Jaime Lee

Chief Executive Officer, Jamison 

At the helm of Jamison, Lee oversees a portfolio spanning 18 million square feet, with 33 multifamily buildings in the city of Los Angeles alone, as well as office, retail and medical properties throughout Southern California. 

Lee’s parents co-founded Jamison in the 1990s and named her chief executive in 2020. Her father, Dr. David Lee, who gained prominence in the local real estate industry with bargain buys following L.A. riots of 1992, sits as chairman. 

The latest ticking clock in Jamison’s portfolio is a loan on a K-town mall that went to special servicing after Jamison failed to pay it off before the maturation date. The debt has a current balance of about $51 million, but a Jamison spokesperson said “transferring the loan to the special servicer was a strategic decision in an effort to obtain an extension to work out a refinance.”

It isn’t the only case of distress. Dr. Lee is the sponsor on four loans connected to real estate in Koreatown and downtown that landed in special servicing: 811 Wilshire, Equitable Plaza, Central Plaza and City Center on 6th (the mall). The collective current balance of the special-serviced debt is about $230 million.

Lee’s siblings work for the company that once had a “slumlord” reputation. Though the Lees have pushed the company beyond that tag, they haven’t completely escaped accusations of bad behavior. Jamison reportedly turned away Section 8 voucher holders at its properties, according to nonprofit publication Capital & Main. Jamison has denied the allegations, which would place the company in violation of the state’s housing discrimination laws. In a statement, Jamie claimed its management companies “accept and welcome tenants utilizing Section 8 vouchers.”