2019 Real Estate Around the West Coast – Trip Kick-Off

One of the many unique benefits of the Master of Real Estate Development (MRED) program at the David Eccles School of Business is the annual real estate trip. It is something I have looked forward to since starting the program, and it is a truly priceless opportunity that our entire group is happy to be a part of. This year, our program has the privilege of touring the West coast on a real estate networking and educational experience. For the next 11 days, our group of 18 students will be given the opportunity to tour multiple cities with diverse meetings arranged throughout the trip that will expand our perspectives of the real estate industry.

Our trip begins in Boise, ID where we will meet with IndieDwell, a company that is doing exciting things in the modular housing industry. As we move northwest to Portland, OR we will be learning from two MRED/Architecture alumni who have achieved great success in the self-storage arena. Our Portland trip will round out with a meeting at Dweller, a new company focused on helping the housing crisis with their unique strategy for accessory dwelling units. As we make our way down the coast, we will stop for a short visit in Ashland, OR for a little reprieve from the long bus rides. Moving on to San Francisco, we will begin with a meeting at Shorenstein Partners, one of the nation’s most respected real estate groups specializing in the office sector. Gensler Architects will also join us, offering a unique perspective as one of the largest architecture firms worldwide with a vast portfolio of innovative projects. We will end our San Francisco trip with a tour of Salesforce Tower, one of the most iconic (and largest!) buildings in the country. As we continue down the interstate, we will stop in Vallejo, CA for the opportunity to learn about multifamily modular buildings with Factory OS. No coastal bus tour would be complete without a stop in Santa Barbara, where we will experience whale watching and a relaxing beach day to revitalize us for the tail end of the trip. We will then head to Los Angeles, where we will join Roger Boyer and Clark Ivory for lunch and learn from their insights on the next areas of innovation within the real estate industry. After a morning workout on the beach, we will gain a unique perspective of adaptive re-use and urban development with Yuval Bar Zemar in the arts district of downtown Los Angeles. Our trip will end in Las Vegas, where ICSC is hosting RECon, one of the largest real estate conferences in the country, and we will be able to meet and network with fellow students and alumni who are attending.

As the Ivory-Boyer Real Estate Center MRED West coast trip embarks, we are all excited at the prospect of meeting with development experts and innovators within the real estate industry, and learning from some of the brightest professionals across the west. We look forward to sharing our insights and experiences as we continue to grow our expertise and expand our perspectives. We invite you to follow along with us!