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MSRE Student team wins the 2024 NAIOP Real Estate Challenge!

Our Master of Science in Real Estate student team has won the 2024 NAIOP Real Estate Challenge!

The UW team of Mehak Agarwal, Vivek Sharma, Sterling Wagner, Jolin Fang, Alex Wilson and Austin Chang coached by Hal Ferris and Runstad Advisory Board member Tejal Pastakia beat out one other UW team (Connor Johnson, Roushan Kwatra, Jackie Burkett, Henry Dwyer, Vy Le, Udit Kumar, Ciara Laney) and two teams from Portland State University. Unofficially the second team of MSRE students came in second.

The 2024 Pacific Northwest Challenge was to develop an adaptive reuse project in the 1200 5th Ave office building known locally as the IBM or Benihana building. The building was originally designed by Minoru Yamasaki, who went on to design the World Trade Center in NYC and has historical significance.

The winning UW proposal proposed conversion to a multifaceted mixed-use building including retail, a 132 key hotel and 188 market-rate units at a total development cost of $191M while generating A levered IRR of 18%.

We want to sincerely thank Hal Ferris, Tejal Pastakia, Al Levine, Jeff McCann, and the many others that contributed their time and service supporting our students in this competion.

 

 

International Alumni Student Panel

The University of Washington Real Estate Club held another successful event on April 5 in Gould Hall.  Organizer, Kevin Cao of Gemsdale, a frequent graduate student mentor, organized a diverse group of International MSRE graduates, who offered their unique perspectives and guidance on career exploration and networking. The panelists proved particularly adept at advising attendees on how to bridge cultural gaps with internal and external stakeholders, and blend into their future workplace. Moderator, Vivien Chim, kept the questions flowing and the students had numerous follow up questions as well.  This well attended event was peppered with current MSRE students,. undergraduates and recent alumni.  Before and after the panel, attendees had the opportunity to put their networking skills to use by engaging with the alumni. Food and beverages were provided by current Advisory Board president Shannon Underwood. Overall, this was an outstanding event that provided invaluable insights into the real estate industry and offered exceptional networking opportunities. We look forward to hosting more events like this in the future!

2023 CoreNet Global Academic Challenge

Yijia Chen, MSRE Class of 2023 shares her recent experience traveling to Singapore to compete in the CoreNet Global Academic Challenge 13

A team of four graduate students in a Master of Science in Real Estate program advanced to the final round of CoreNet Global Academic Challenge 13 (AC13) in Singapore competing against more than 30 student teams from universities around the world. The team was asked to play the role of an internal corporate real estate professional for a global home appliance manufacturer in the challenge and to develop future workplace strategies given the rise of the metaverse. Ultimately, the team decided to adopt the strategy of designing for a hybrid workplace where VR and AR technologies can be applied to deal with the current and anticipated challenges of a hybrid workplace faced by both manufacturing center workers and office workers.

The UW team competed with the New York University and the University of Malaya, Malaysia in the AC13 Competition. Even though the UW did not win the cup, the Singapore experience is invaluable. The team attended a variety of exhibits, networking luncheons, and informational events during the three days of the summit. The team also met corporate real estate professionals from across the globe – Australia, India, Malaysia, London, Philippines, and Japan, just to name a few. The opportunity to exchange ideas and learn from their experiences provides an excellent opportunity to broaden the team member’s horizons and allow them to bring fresh perspectives into the Spring quarter classrooms.

A sincere thank you to Sofia, Skylar, Sakriti, Josh and other professionals from the CoreNet Washington Chapter for all of your support and guidance.

Ciara Joy Laney, Class of 2024

This month, cultures worldwide recognize and celebrate women’s accomplishments. In what ways, if any, has recognizing these celebrated accomplishments of women in Real Estate impacted you as a woman entering that same career field?

Celebrating the accomplishments of women in Real Estate has had a significant impact on me because representation matters. As the saying goes, “If she can see it, she can be it.” As someone interested in real estate development, it’s inspiring to attend speaker panels and see women taking their rightful place at the table. 

What prompted you to declare Real Estate as a major, and what have been some of your highlights as a student of the major?

I chose to major in Real Estate because it provides a platform for me to utilize my skills and passions in areas such as creativity, business finance, and communication. As a student, some of my highlights include serving as a Communication Manager for the Real Estate Club and representing the student body on the College of Built Environments Diversity Council. I will also be competing in Toronto, CA for my first real estate development competition at the end of this month!

Commercial Real Estate has traditionally been a male-dominated industry. How are women in today’s society working to change that narrative?

Women in today’s society are reshaping the narrative by supporting and advocating for each other. Organizations such as CREW (Commercial Real Estate Women) are excellent examples of groups that aid and encourage female professionals.

In the area of real estate, why is mentorship important to women?

Mentorship is particularly vital for women in the real estate industry as it is historically male-dominated. It can be discouraging when one’s gender results in not being taken seriously. In an industry with such highs and lows, having a mentor can assist women in navigating these challenges.

How can we empower young women interested in real estate careers?

We can empower young women interested in real estate careers by addressing gender bias, educating ourselves, and celebrating successful women in the industry as role models. Small and consistent steps lead to big change. Progress is progress, no matter how small. 

Zeynep Akman, Class of 2025

Recognizing the hard work and dedication of women in real estate has definitely empowered me to step into a leadership role in this sector, even though there’s a high barrier to entry (but see presently). It’s also a great opportunity to learn from their work ethic and make note of attributes that helped them be successful in their careers.

2023 NAIOP Challenge

This week a team of graduate and undergraduate real estate students presented their proposal to a panel of judges at the annual NAIOP Real Estate Challenge, a development case competition in which teams from the University of Washington, University of British Columbia, and Portland State University real estate programs compete. Students create an investment proposal for a well-located development site. This year the site was in our own back yard, the Sound Transit owned site in the University District, where a tiny home village is  currently located. The UW proposal was heavily focused on affordable housing financing including low-income housing tax credits. This was a big challenge and a great learning opportunity for the students. Several industry experts were brought in to help the students with tax credit financing, land use code for high rise development in Seattle and other design challenges for this visible and important site.

The UW had a strong team for the competition.  Although they did not take home the Bob Filley cup this year, the real world experience creating a development project from the ground up is invaluable.

A sincere thank you to Al Levine and Hal Ferris, our faculty and industry sponsors for all the time you devoted to helping the students.

NAIOP Team 2023

2023 NAIOP Challenge UW Team

Ye Won Carey Jang, MUP ‘2023
Vivien Chim, MSRE ‘2023
Sam Jarvis, B.S. Real Estate ‘2023
Aarie Liebreich, MSRE ‘2023
Morse Lin, MSRE ‘2023
Jennifer Liu, B.S. Real Estate ‘2023
Tianyi Liu, MUP 2023
Jacob Melaragno, MUP 2023
Maren Grunnet, MUP 2023
Sam Shadkhast, MSRE ‘2024
Amy Towillis, MSRE ‘2023

 

 

Shuhan Yi, Class of 2024

This month, cultures worldwide recognize and celebrate women’s accomplishments. In what ways, if any, has recognizing these celebrated accomplishments of women in Real Estate impacted you as a woman entering that same career field?

As a woman entering the same career path as those who are recognized and praised by the media and organizations, I feel like I gain more confidence in building up my career journey. Highlighting women accomplishment posts inspire me to gain hands-on experience from different types of occupations in the real estate industry and do my best in every aspect. They are my role models and they teach me nothing is impossible and women can do great things just like men.

What prompted you to declare Real Estate as a major, and what have been some of your highlights as a student of the major?

I declared real estate as my major because I have been interested in property management, asset management, and portfolio management since when I was a little girl. I would love to build up a solid knowledge base of real estate and seek professional advice from professors, student ambassadors, and advisers regarding future career opportunities. I actively participate in group assignments and establish a bunch of good friendships with peers in class, which is something I am passionate about. In the future, I hope I can establish a bigger career network and ensure which occupation I would like to pursue.

Commercial Real Estate has traditionally been a male-dominated industry. How are women in today’s society working to change that narrative?

The best way to change the narrative that real estate is male-dominated industry is showing everyone that women are capable of doing great in real estate. Big achievements made by women in real estate are concrete evidence that gender cannot and should not permanently determine one’s occupational potential.

In the area of real estate, why is mentorship important to women?

Mentorship is important to women in real estate because a good mentor will guide you, support you, advise you, and help you to set up career goals and future career paths. A mentorship impacts career trajectory since we will have a better understanding of the real estate industry and corresponding career choices and future growth and the very start to slowly form our own network and personal achievements.

How can we empower young women interested in real estate careers?

To empower young women interested in real estate careers, we should set up informational seminars about the real estate industry every quarter and also encourage young women to find their potential by trying a variety of job positions in the real estate industry. Gender-assigned roles and occupations ingrained in most minds and we should educate young women that nobody can belittle their potential and dream career just because we are women and they should chase their dreams regarding negative prejudiced criticisms.

Runstad Department of Real Estate Winter Career Fair

The Runstad Department of Real Estate held its bi-annual career fair on February 10th. This event is a great opportunity for students to “lean in” and practice their networking skills. The fair brought 30 firms from all aspects of the industry, including: office, mixed use, retail, industrial, multifamily, single use, and finance. Over one hundred graduate and undergraduate students attended, seeking internship and job opportunities.

We are fortunate to have such amazing support from the real estate community. Many thanks to all the firms that participated. Our next career fair will be on May 12th. If you are a firm interested in participating, please reach out to Melissa Best, bestm2@uw.edu

“The career fair was a great experience for me. All the companies that attended were very welcoming and eager to speak with you about their company and the opportunities they had. It was an awesome way to learn about a ton of different industries in Real Estate in a short amount of time. I was able to gain a ton of new contacts and work on my networking skills in a low stake environment. Overall, the event was very helpful, and I highly recommend everyone attend the next event because of all the valuable job leads and insights I was able to gain.”

Will Douglas, Senior

“I was grateful for the resources provided by the Runstad Real Estate Department that enabled me to prepare for my first career fair. Speaking with the different companies gave me a better understanding of where I want to be in my career.”

Ciara Joy Laney, Junior

“Attending the RE career fair was a highlight of my student experience. The event was bustling with companies and recruiters, all eager to meet and engage with students. I was able to meet with a variety of companies and learn about the different career paths available to me. It was a great opportunity to network with professionals and gain valuable insights into the job market in real estate. Overall, the career fair was an excellent resource for preparing me for my future career.”

Vivek Sharma, MSRE Class of 2024