LOS ANGELES - A team of five graduate students affiliated with the USC Lusk Center for Real Estatecolor> scored a triumphant three-peat over rival UCLA in the sixth annual NAIOP SoCal USC/UCLA Real Estate Challenge held in Downtown Los Angeles. Some 300 people crowded into Union Station to watch a panel of 18 real estate industry leaders award a Silver Shovel to the USC team for the third year in a row.
The contest challenged both teams to come up with the best development strategy for an institutional investor seeking a project to jump-start the revitalization of downtown. The Trojans' proposal targeted a three-block site at Third Street and Broadway where the initial phase comprised 432 apartments, 65,000 square feet of retail and 720 parking spaces as key to furthering the Broadway corridor's redevelopment.
USC professor David Dale-Johnsoncolor>, Ph.D., faculty advisor for the winning team, credits his students for executing a strategy to meet the needs of institutional investors and "being great on their feet" during the oral presentation. The Trojans' records now stands at 4-2 over the UCLA Bruins.
The five USC students - from the Marshall School of Business MBA Program and the School of Policy, Planning and Development Masters in Real Estate Development Program - were Ryan Altoon, Vernon Chi, Michael Ortwein, Allyson Watkins and David Webber.color>