Colvin Institute Names Winners of the First Annual Colvin Case Study Challenge

Tuomas Raikamo Jamie Horton, Patrice Derrington and Daniel Vega

Colvin Institute for Real Estate Development has awarded a group of graduate students in real estate development from Columbia University the top prize in the first annual Colvin Case Study Challenge. The team beat out an initial 19 entries and four semi-finalists from university programs across the nation in a juried live competition Saturday at the University of Maryland. A second place prize was awarded to SUNY Buffalo, third place to Clemson University and an honorable mention to University of St. Thomas in Minneapolis.

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 its own metropolitan region. Projects are judged on the depth of understanding of markets, project valuation, finance, urban design, entitlement processes and operational issues by leading real estate professionals. The first-place team received $10,000, with the second place and third place winners receiving $5000 and $2500, respectively.

Colvin Case Study Challenge 2016 Winners:

First Place: J, Columbia University

Manhattanville Factory District

Faculty Advisor: Patrice Derrington; Mentor: Scott Metzner

Second Place: Amy Downing and Lisa Hicks, SUNY Buffalo

Five Hundred Seneca

Faculty Advisor: Mark Foerster; Mentor: David Stebbins

Third Place: David Bivens, Randy Clack and Wain Owings, Clemson University

Redefining the Intersection of Downtown

Faculty Advisor: Robert Benedict; Mentor: Chandles Thompson

Honorable Mention: Tina Angell, Brandon Doyle and Nathan Thorvilson, University of St. Thomas

Pioneer Endicott

Faculty Advisor: Herb Tousley; Mentor: Rich Pakonen

One of the hallmarks of the competition is the opportunity for the students to present in a professional forum and 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 Tom Burton, Alex Brown Realty, Baltimore, Md.; Susanne Cannon, DePaul University, Chicago, Il.; Michael Johnson, Urban Core LLC, San Francisco, Ca; Davor Kapelina, AtSite, Inc., Washington, D.C.; David Roodberg, Horning Brothers, Washington, D.C.; and Rob Rosenfeld, Rosenfeld Realty, Chevy Chase, Md., for serving on this year's jury.