(Left to proper) Professor Henry “Hank” Koffman, Jonathan Emami and USC Viterbi Dean Yannis C. Yortsos (Picture/Courtesy of USC Viterbi)
Within the spring of 2024, Jonathan Emami, MCM ’06, had lunch at Moreton Fig at the USC campus along with his mentor Henry “Hank” Koffman, longtime director of the USC Viterbi Faculty of Engineering’s Building Control Program. Emami, president and founding father of JEMCOR Building Companions, a thriving Bay House developer and builder of inexpensive and mixed-income flats, up to date Koffman on his trade and plans for long run enlargement.
Koffman, himself a a success actual property developer, listened carefully to his former scholar. Then he spoke. “You’ll burn your self out if you happen to’re no longer cautious,” Koffman informed Emami. “I’ve a couple of concepts for growth.”
Emami, now 41, had each explanation why to consider Koffman, his former instructional adviser and professor. When Emami matriculated at USC Viterbi as a brand new grasp’s scholar in 2004, Koffman endorsed Emami to department out and take positive trade and actual property lessons that he idea would get advantages him greater than the usual development control curriculum. Koffman even helped Emami protected the wanted approvals to make it occur.
Over time, Emami and Koffman have stayed in contact, growing an in depth dating in accordance with consider and mutual appreciate. They alternate telephone calls steadily and meet in individual a number of occasions a yr when Emami is in Southern California or Koffman visiting the San Francisco Bay House. “He’s anyone I like very much and no doubt glance as much as,” Emami mentioned.
Koffman and USC, Emami mentioned, gave him a powerful basis for his skilled good fortune. As an expression of his gratitude, in 2020 Emami created the Emami Circle of relatives Endowed Fellowship to lend a hand scholars pursing a Grasp of Building Control level, and, in 2021, he established the Jonathan Emami Building Control Endowed Fund to reinforce new tasks, scholars and curriculum.
Now, Emami – a member of the USC Viterbi Board of Councilors and the Sonny Astani Division of Civil and Environmental Engineering Advisory Board – has made a considerable reward to call the USC Building Control Program and create the Emami Building Control Institute.
“Jonathan Emami stepped as much as lend a hand support the exceptional Building Control Program in our Astani Division. This glorious reward will lift the standard and have an effect on of this system, draw in proficient new scholars and college and feature a long-term sure impact in our engineering global,” USC Viterbi Dean Yannis C. Yortsos mentioned.
As a part of this reward, Emami may be naming a chair in Professor Koffman’s honor: The Henry M. Koffman Endowed Chair in Building Control. On this means, the Henry M. Koffman identify will live to tell the tale, with the named chair enabling the Building Control Program to proceed to rent and retain remarkable college.
“This was once so surprising. I’m jubilant. I will be able to’t let you know what an honor and thrill that is,” mentioned Koffman, who has served as program director for 33 years. “Jonathan’s only a exhibit for our program and for all our scholars. I’m so happy with him.”
Connecting the dots
Emami seems again fondly at his time at USC. Changing into a part of the Trojan Circle of relatives, he mentioned, modified his existence. “It attached some dots, gave me self belief, and laid the groundwork for my profession.”
He values the schooling he gained at USC such a lot that Emami stored all his notes and books from his scholar days. Even now, he nonetheless infrequently refers to them for solutions or for a sense of nostalgia. “A lot of what we studied then is simply as related as of late,” Emami mentioned.
Emami has flourished since leaving Troy.
After operating in the actual property construction trade for just about a decade, Emami based JEMCOR in 2015. Since then, his vertically built-in construction and development corporate has constructed a number of thousand rental devices within the Bay House, most commonly in Santa Clara and San Mateo counties. Over the summer time, JEMCOR delivered a 249-unit challenge in Morgan Hill and is recently nearing finishing touch on a 271-unit challenge in San Jose. Final yr, the corporate secured financing and began development on a brand new 300-unit challenge in San Jose and any other 341-unit challenge in San Bruno.
The corporate makes a speciality of the improvement and development of inexpensive and mixed-income rental communities that supply rents at underneath marketplace charges. JEMCOR acquires land, secures the entitlements and the financing to construct such flats, which in flip make housing imaginable for individuals who would another way have only a few choices to reside within the exorbitantly top priced Bay House.
Emami mentioned his paintings brings him immense delight. “Each and every week I spend an afternoon within the box visiting initiatives which might be recently beneath development. I really like seeing the process, seeing the employees, and simply seeing the engine of development shifting,” he mentioned. “It feels in point of fact nice understanding we will be able to be offering housing to a selected marketplace the place it’s in point of fact wanted.”
An inspiration
Emami needs his reward to take the Building Control Program to the following degree of excellence, permitting it to develop on the graduate and undergraduate degree, rent new college and feature the sources to “ramp up.” He would additionally like to look new partnerships shaped with different methods, particularly with actual property, because it is going hand in hand with development.
Similarly necessary, Emami hopes his reinforce will encourage others to provide again, on the other hand they are able to.
“If you’ll give by any means, whether or not that’s your time, wisdom or monetary sources, I feel it’s necessary to lend a hand,” he mentioned. “Why no longer? Creating a measurable have an effect on makes you are feeling nice.”
Revealed on February twenty fifth, 2025
Final up to date on February twenty fifth, 2025
