The Utah Real Estate Challenge, an optional program through the Ivory-Boyer Real Estate Center in the Master of Real Estate program at the David Eccles School of Business, wrapped up its competition on Friday with the top four teams vying for a chance at the grand prize of $20,000, which will be used to put their development plans into action.
The challenge offers students from schools across the state the opportunity to team up and enter real-life projects that can be implemented on a real site. The projects are judged on creativity, feasibility, and strength of potential. Each team is mentored by industry professionals who provide insight and guidance on the project.
This year’s competition started out with 14 teams that competed in March to make it to the final round. Real Estate and investment professionals from companies like Zions Bank, Cowboy Partners, Integra Realty Resources, and Ivory Homes reviewed each project to determine who would be in the running to receive the cash prizes.
The finalists were: BN Development (Zach Bellows & Dave Nash) presented their Canyon View 327-unit multifamily development, which they proposed building in the Old Mill area of Cottonwood Heights; Monumental Development (Edward Waldvogel & Greg Wall) offered Bountiful Chalet a 114-unit assisted living development in Bountiful; OnTRAC (Abby Ehman, Ryan Beck, Taylor Spendlove & Craig Romrell) proposed Metro Lofts a 205-unit apartment project with retail at the street level to be located in the heart of Salt Lake City; BR Development (Bryce Rindlesback & Jack Jeppson) presented their 68-80-unit apartment complex to be built in Murray. Each team had 30 minutes to present the costs, benefits, and needs being met by each development to Round 2 judges.
The 2013 top team was Monumental Development whom will now be able to begin the process of implementing the assisted living home in Bountiful. BN Development came in 2nd place with a cash prize of $5,000, OnTRAC took home 3rd place and $3,000, and BR Development came in 4th with $2,000. This was a difficult competition that helped students develop their skills, build industry contacts and provide hands-on education on how to find funding for future projects. Congratulations to all the teams who participated!
The Master of Real Estate program is a unique offering at the David Eccles School of Business and is one of few across the country. The Real Estate program is designed to provide the foundation for a successful career in real estate. The MRED is a combined effort between the David Eccles School of Business and the College of Architecture & Planning, thus giving students from multiple disciplines – development and urban planning to finance, entrepreneurship to engineering – relevant and practical experience to navigate the markets since the housing bubble collapse.
