ANAHEIM, Calif.—Real estate master’s candidates from Chapman University beat their UC Irvine colleagues in Orange County’s first real estate challenge April 28 to develop nearly seven acres of land in North Anaheim.
The competition was sponsored by the Taormina family, who owns part of the land being developed.
The rules by the Taormina family were simple: the winning team would present a development plan for the land that would be walkable, promote a sense of community and include desirable retail. And of course, once built, be profitable.
With Chapman and UC Irvine having the only two Master’s in Real Estate programs in Orange County, a team of five people from each school entered the competition.
Chapman members Robert Bond, Cole Fleming, Asher Friedman, Darrah Shaygan, and Isabella Zelinger, took the prize.
“I’m relieved [it’s over]. We put so much time into this proposal, and we sacrificed a lot to get to this point,” winning team member Isabella Zelinger told the Epoch Times. “This is a huge project for a group of students with zero real-estate development experience.”
Teams had just over three weeks to create a development plan for four segments of the land including a large public park and 17 parcels of vacant or underdeveloped land containing extensive street frontage.
Chapman won after addressing both the city’s and the Taormina family’s desire to turn Pearson Lane, an area currently considered a “drive-through destination,” into an area connected by walkable paths and community gathering spots, including a new marketplace, food hall concept, beer garden, new housing, and increased parking for visitors.
According to judges, Chapman’s plan created a “deeper sense of community” by “brid[ging] the gap between residents and businesses,” and designed a “cohesive” space for future generations to gather, ultimately making them the winner over UC Irvine.
“This is one of the most difficult development proposal assignments I’ve seen for this type of competition,” an event sponsor and real estate development firm Prologis told The Epoch Times.
Representatives from real estate developer Newmark Group were so impressed with Chapman’s performance, that they offered team member Darrah Shaygan a full-time position following the competition.
The competition consisted of a 20-minute presentation from each team outlining their proposals, which included extensive budget analyses and valuations, and explanations of how their proposals would meet the Taormina family’s criteria.
From there, a panel of nine judges from leading real estate development firms, and one Anaheim official, had 15 minutes to ask each team questions about their proposals. The audience also had an opportunity to question teams.
The competition ended with one final “curveball,” in which landowner Bill Taormina, announced he would donate 25 percent of revenue eventually generated from the winning team’s commercial development to the City of Anaheim to fund youth development, provide homeless assistance, and more.
“As the mayor of Anaheim said, it’s the coming of the second Golden Age of Anaheim … Anaheim is open for business,” said Anaheim Economic Development Director Sergio Ramirez after Chapman was announced the winner.
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