FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Carrie Chard, Colvin Institute / cchard@umd.edu
Wednesday, December 15, 2022
College Park, Md.— A luxury mixed-use apartment community in the heart of Los Angeles’ media district won critical acclaim—and first place—at the seventh annual Colvin Case Study Challenge. A team from Pepperdine University beat semi-finalists from Clemson University, New York University and Baruch College with their case study of Talaria Burbank in a juried, live competition at the University of Maryland on Saturday.
“This year’s teams did a remarkable job highlighting the journeys of these unique projects in a way that was comprehensive and compelling,” said Maria Day-Marshall, director of UMD’s Real Estate Development Program. “It made the jury’s work particularly difficult, but was a wonderful opportunity to highlight talented, emerging professionals.”
Sponsored by the University of Maryland’s Colvin Institute of Real Estate Development, the Colvin Case Study Challenge is a national retrospective written case study competition that challenges teams to document a recent innovative real estate project within their own metropolitan region. Projects are judged blindly by leading real estate professionals on several criteria, including a depth of understanding of markets, project valuation, finance, urban design and sustainability, entitlement processes and operational issues.
This year’s winning entries offered judges a behind-the-scenes look at a diverse mix of development projects in complex, competitive environments. Pepperdine’s presentation of a Burbank-based, mixed-use apartment complex highlighted the herculean effort to acquire the necessary parcels to create a luxury living experience within walking or biking distance to LA’s robust media and healthcare industries. Clemson University and New York University both made an impressive showing with projects that also addressed social challenges in their respective cities; Clemson’s second-place entry, the Shepherd Hotel, depicted a creatively-designed luxury hotel that provides employment for special needs individuals, while New York University’s examination of The Kira highlighted the work of SMJ Development’s Juan Barahona, whose background in affordable housing helped shape the supportive housing project geared to domestic violence victims.
Colvin Case Study Challenge 2022 Winners:
First Place: Pepperdine University
Christian Deindoerfer, Andrew Mossighi, Brianna Piacitelli
Project: Talaria Burbank
Second Place: Clemson University
Raegan Brown, Zeke Galloway, Aditya Singh
Project: The Shepherd Hotel
Third Place: New York University
Maia Peterson, Stella Kim, David Wu
Project: The Kira
Honorable Mention: Baruch College
Felipe Lima, Gozde Karamanoglu, Raymond Mohamed Rashiad
Project: The Refinery at Domino
In addition to gauging their understanding of the critical aspects of real estate development, the challenge also provides an opportunity for the students to glean feedback and counsel from experts in the industry, both through mentorship and jury interaction. This year’s jury comprised leaders in real estate development and education from across the country. The Colvin Institute thanks Elizabeth Glenn, Chair, US-Africa Collaborative; David Godschalk, General Counsel, Urban Ingenuity; Alan Goldstein, Vice President, Real Estate Development & Portfolio Strategy, AHC Inc.; and Karen McGrath, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Finance, Bucknell University, for serving on the 2022 jury.
“We are proud to be a leader in opportunities that strengthen students’ skill and experience in this key field,” said Dr. Dawn Jourdan, Dean of the University of Maryland School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation. “The Colvin Case Study Challenge is a testament to our work in educating the next generation of real estate development professionals.”
The Case Study Challenge is named for the late Baltimore developer John Colvin, who founded the Colvin Institute of Real Estate Development in 2008. The Colvin Institute of Real Estate Development supports the interdisciplinary approach of the University of Maryland’s Master of Real Estate Development curriculum, which comprehensively covers finance and capital markets, law and public policy, structure and site design, construction management, property, portfolio and asset management as well as marketing and commercial leasing. Learn more about the Colvin Institute of Real Estate Development.