Five Herberger Business School students teamed to earn a $1,000 third-place prize at the University Real Estate Challenge April 19 in St. Paul.
Teams pitched plans to redevelop the 4.8-acre St. Paul site that includes the former Adult Detention Center and West Publishing buildings near Wabasha Street South and Kellogg Boulevard, along the Mississippi River.
“This is a small competition of only elite schools in real estate. We compete every year, but it is a big deal to make to the top three,” said Kelly Jameson, assistant professor in the Department of Finance and Real Estate.
St. Cloud State’s team is:
- Kyle Delarosby, real estate major, Prior Lake
- Kaitlyn Tveit, double major in finance and real estate, Aitkin
- Austin Ruehle, real estate major, South Haven
- Logan Guest, finance major, Bloomington
- Drew Quist, real estate major, Sartell
Six schools competed. University of Minnesota took first. Marquette University was second. Defending champion University of Wisconsin, Madison, University of Northern Iowa and University of St. Thomas did not place.
St. Cloud State’s team proposed a 15-story apartment building and a small office building that would be 50-percent pre-leased to a co-working tenant, Jameson said. Co-working firms such as WeWork, Impact Hub and Heras Hub provide a shared workplace for freelancers, work-at-home professionals, independent contractors, independent scientists and the like.
The plan also calls for a small retail component, including restaurants and a Punch Bowl Social, according to Jameson. Punchbowl Social is an American restaurant chain that features music, games, craft beverages and “food for foodies.”
“Some creative elements to their proposal were a State of Hockey museum and a land bridge and river balcony connecting the building to a riverfront park,” Jameson said.
The team pitched their plan to a Treasure Island Center audience of more than 200 commercial real estate professionals. Students presented a 10-minute PowerPoint slide show, then fielded questions for 10 minutes.
The six judges were looking for a profitable yet feasible project that would appeal to investors.
The University Real Estate Challenge was hosted by the Minnesota chapter of NAIOP: Commercial Real Estate Development Association.
Major sponsors for 2018 were Ramsey County; St. Paul Port Authority; Hempel, a real estate development company; and the foundation arm of The Opus Group, a family of commercial real estate development, construction and design companies.
- Learn more about our degree programs in Finance and Real Estate
- Meet the faculty of the Department of Finance and Real Estate
