Utah Real Estate Challenge 2025
Overview
The Utah Real Estate Challenge (UREC) is an intercollegiate real estate development competition for undergraduate and graduate students throughout the State of Utah. The competition fosters an understanding of real estate development by giving students the opportunity to prepare and present a development proposal to a panel of expert judges. A grand prize of $20,000 will be awarded to the team with the most promising and economically viable real estate development plan. A second-place prize of $10,000, and a third-place prize of $5,000 will also be awarded. The competition is made possible by the generous support of the Ivory-Boyer Real Estate Center Board, sponsors, mentors, judges, and faculty from participating schools.
Interested in participating or sponsoring the event? Please reach out to Alicia Brooks at alicia.brooks@eccles.utah.edu.

First-Place Winner
Atlas Development Group: WestEnd
Atlas Development Group is proud to introduce WestEnd, a bold, mixed-use development inspired by the momentum of West High School’s redevelopment plan. WestEnd builds on the energy of the area’s transformation—positioned directly south of the school along 300 West—to serve as a new gateway between West High and downtown Salt Lake City. The project will include 337 residential units, with 15% master leased for West High faculty student families, promoting accessibility, affordability, and long-term community investment. A curated retail corridor will activate the public realm, while shared amenities will support both residents and the school district, reinforcing the project’s community-first vision. More than just a development, WestEnd represents a forward-thinking public-private collaboration that aligns with Salt Lake City’s vision for smart, inclusive growth. By strengthening the connection between West High and the urban core, WestEnd will help shape a more connected, vibrant, and future-ready Salt Lake City.
Team Members: Calli Glazier, Dawson Kearns, Brandon Reese, Raef Thomas, Jessica Zuban

Second-Place Winner
UPLIFT Real Estate Group: Triple 7 State
Uplift Real Estate Group proposes a mixed-use development featuring 188 mixed-income affordable units, medical outpatient centers, retail, daycare, and career center – all on a 1.71-acre site at the corner of 800 South and State Street. Triple 7 State is designed to be the cornerstone of the South State neighborhood’s revitalization, It aligns closely with the city’s vision for a vibrant, inclusive, and accessible downtown by reactivating a long-overlooked site with uses that serve both immediate community needs and long-term city goals. Strategically located across from the proposed Intermountain Urban Hospital, Triple 7 State forms a natural nexus for healthcare and housing. In partnership with Intermountain Health, we’re delivering housing and services that ensure that those who sustain the urban core, can afford to live in it. Located within a Qualified Census Tract, SLC RDA project area, and HTRZ eligible area, Triple 7 leverages a unique blend of public-private partnerships and funding sources that make this ambitious vision feasible.
Team Members: Taylor Alvarez, Sean Donner, Sam Hosac, Will McCoy

Third-Place Winner
The ACOTA Group: HIVE
HIVE is a downtown development featuring a vibrant active adult community, multi-family housing with a variety of unit sizes, a neighborhood grocery market, and outdoor amenity space focused on activities for children and adults. Architectural features and site considerations will attend to the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification scorecard and the Sustainable SITES Initiative standards to produce a development project that is resilient and sustainable. Site layout, programming, and amenities are meant to encourage multi-generational community building on site, while a population of mature residents will also increase visitation and economic activity for adjacent businesses, entertainment, and service providers. A unique blend of offerings–including housing for 55+ active adults, multi-family apartments, a grocery market, and children’s play space–supports all the needs of a low-maintenance, urban lifestyle for residents and visitors of all ages.
Team Members: Avery Albright, Olivia Gillette, Tyler Hopkin, Austin Keller, Christopher Wilson
UREC 2024 Winners

First-Place Winner
Red Arch Development:
The Outfield
Team Members:

Second-Place Winner
Revive Development Group:
Fender Station
Team Members:

Third-Place Winner
Apis Partners:
The Diamond District
Team Members:
Resources
UREC 2024
Finalists Team Presentations
and Awards Banquet
Thursday, April 11, 2024
11 a.m. – 1 p.m.
Grand America Hotel
555 South Main Street
Salt Lake City, Utah
Please email Alicia.Brooks@Eccles.Utah.edu for information or to RSVP before Wednesday, April 3. Table sponsorships are available.
2024 Competition Details

Awards
Competition Timeline
Team Registration Opens Friday, Jan. 19, 2024, 8 a.m. |
Team Registration Deadline Wednesday, Feb. 7, 2024, 11:59 p.m. |
5-page Development Proposal Submission Deadline Friday, Feb. 23, 2024, 5 p.m. |
First Round Judges Presentations Thursday, Feb. 29, 2024 at 8:30 a.m. |
25-page Development Business Plan Submission deadline Tuesday, April 2, 2024, Noon |
Finalist Presentation and Awards Luncheon Thursday, April 11, 2024, at 11 a.m. |
UREC 2023 Winners

First-Place Winners
LOC
Team Members: Russell Dilworth, Nathan Frame, Porter Openshaw, Annika Tingey, RaeLee Yancy

Second-Place Winner
BCR Development
Team Members: Chase Dorius, Catherine Frost, Braxton Hackman, Braya Robbins, Ryan Ward

Third-Place Winner
Cirque Studios
Team Members: Lucas Chimento, Jack Gordon, Addison Martin, Alaina Prasek

Fourth-Place Winner
Altior
Team Members: Casey Bowen, Samira Marjaei, Courtney Nielsen, Valarie Williams

First-Place Winners
Pioneer Dev
Team Members: Bailey Johnson, Luke Littlefield, Cooper Parson, Kenley Roberts, Austin Taylor

Runners-up
ARCH Group
Team Members: Austin Dent, Russ Dilworth, Blake Hanson, Hunter Murray, Kevin Peterson

Runners-up
RJN Group
Team Members: Amro Al-Nimri, Morgan Julian, Scott Rojahn
Thank You to Our Supporters
Chair’s Circle





