The Goodspeed Update

Last Saturday I competed in second annual Real Estate Case Competition hosted by George Washington University’s Real Estate Investment & Development Organization. Sixteen universities created interdisciplinary teams to create detailed redevelopment proposals for a site in Rosslyn, Virginia slated for redevelopment. The property owners, Vornado/Charles E. Smith, participated in the judging of the entries and contributed funds to host the competition and award the winning team a cash prize of $15,000. On Saturday, six of the top teams gave 40 minute presentations to a panel of judges from the real estate and planning community. Although every team had impressive presentations, our team took first place, the University of Virginia second, and Columbia University third.

Our University of Maryland team included Peter Mellen, Tyler Abrams, Eric Raasch, Tiffany Williams, and Malav Patel. Group members represented the Masters in Real Estate Development, Masters in Community Planning, and Masters in Business Administration Programs. Peter was the team leader and Tyler was responsible for the architectural renderings. The team is pictured to the right with one of our advisors, UMD Real Estate Development Program Director Dr. Margaret McFarland.

The site was located in Rosslyn, adjacent I-66.

We proposed a $1.5 billion development that would replace an aging collection of 1960s buildings with four new buildings, containing office, residential, retail, and a hotel.

Our proposal was not only profitable, but also contained an allowance for LEED Gold certification, a $19.6 million contribution to affordable housing, and other community amenities. We also proposed establishing a “Friends of Roosevelt Island Trust” to oversee the restoration of Roosevelt Island, which would be connected to the project via a new bike and pedestrian bridge over I-66.

A representative from the sponsor said they were preparing a real-life redevelopment proposal to present to county officials. After studying the site so intensively, I’ll be interested to see their proposal and what similarities it has with our design.

> UMD: “Real Estate Development Team Wins $15,000 First Prize“