Tammy Jones
Over 25 years in commercial real estate, each of the roles Tammy Jones has held has prepared her for the ultimate one—leading her own investment and lending platform. She learned the ropes at Equitable Real Estate, GMAC, and CWCapital and got her master’s in real estate finance at night while working full time. In 2009, she took the leap to start her own company.
Tammy Jones, founder and CEO, Basis Investment Group
“I have been investing and lending on commercial real estate assets for institutions for my entire career,” she says. “My final and biggest pivotal moment was having the courage to go out on my own and follow my entrepreneurial spirit to start my own platform 12 years ago.”
A certified minority and woman-owned business, Basis Investment Group is a multi-strategy commercial real estate investment platform that Jones founded with JEMB Realty Corp. In addition, she was the first African-American woman to get a Freddie Mac seller-servicer agency license.
“I have been told that I am one of the only African-American female owners of a diversified commercial real estate and multifamily investment platform in the country,” says Jones, who is co-founder and CEO. “With a thoughtful strategy to build our track record, we have finally been able to scale and create a national platform. Our commitment to diversity is in our DNA—not only is our team comprised of 78% women and minorities, we have also invested and loaned more than $800 million with other MWOB commercial real estate firms. I truly believe that diversity is our secret sauce to outperformance.”
Since its founding, Basis Investment Group has closed nearly $4 billion in commercial real estate and multifamily debt and structured equity, including deploying about $1.5 billion in equity. The firm invests and lends in the middle market on all property types, including office, industrial, and multifamily with a focus on workforce housing, which is a priority for Jones.
“For me, investing and lending in multifamily assets is personal. I grew up in affordable and workforce housing,” she says. “We have an affordability crisis in housing in America right now, and COVID has exacerbated that problem. There wasn’t a lot of development in workforce housing following the great financial crisis, and now we have a pipeline that’s more anemic than ever.”
She says Basis is committed to getting capital to investors that develop or own workforce housing. “It has been very rewarding to me to have an impact and to get capital into the sector, while also trying to ensure that this capital allocation is inclusive of women and people of color.”
Jones is passionate about making the real estate industry more diverse. She is the first chair of the Real Estate Executive Council, an organization for African-American and Latino commercial real estate and multifamily executives. She created Basis Impact Group Foundation to inspire the next generation of minorities and women in commercial real estate by exposing underrepresented youth to the career and wealth building opportunities that exist in the industry. She also has been involved with bringing trade organizations and CEOs together as well as working with private companies and public REITs to diversify their boards. Last year, she joined the board of directors of office and multifamily REIT Mack-Cali Realty Corp.
“It has to be a multifaceted approach that focuses not just on hiring, but also on wealth creation,” Jones says. “None of us can do this alone. Like my fellow Cornell alum Ruth Bader Ginsburg said, ‘real change, enduring change, happens one step at a time.’”
