April 22, 2021 — The Granary District could soon have a new look, if developers bite on one of several proposals put forth by students in the Utah Real Estate Challenge.
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 understanding of real estate development by giving students the opportunity to prepare and present a real estate development plan to a panel of expert judges. The grand prize of $20,000 went to Foundry Group, who shared most promising and economically viable real estate development plan. Second and third prizes of $10,000 and $5,000 went to Empyre Development and LMFJ Development, respectively.
This year students were tasked with proposing redevelopment plans for a two-parcel, 1.2 acre piece of property in the Granary District, on the southwest corner of 900 South and 500 West. This historic area has provided many industrial and commercial uses over the years, but is now being re-discovered as a maker’s space housing artists, breweries, restaurants and businesses of all types and sizes.
“That’s what this whole thing is about, getting the best in the business to mentor the up-and-coming talent,” said Clark Ivory, President of Ivory Homes and one of the founders of the Ivory-Boyer Real Estate Center. Both Ivory and his cofounder, Roger Boyer, thanked center directors Flyn Dawson and Danny Wall for fostering a culture of mentorship for students throughout the challenge.
To compete, students propose their development idea for the site, with a minimum budget of $10 million. They submit a five-page proposal for the initial judging, and then a 25-page final project that is judged by industry experts from fields including construction management, architecture and real estate finance. Finalists then give a presentation before the judging panel and industry experts to choose the winner.
About the Utah Real Estate Challenge
The Utah Real Estate Challenge is an intercollegiate real estate development competition for undergraduate and graduate students throughout the state of Utah. The competition fosters understanding of real estate development by giving students the opportunity to prepare and present a real estate development plan to a panel of expert judges. Students are judged on whether their design is promising and economically viable.
About the David Eccles School of Business
The Eccles School is synonymous with ‘doing.’ The Eccles experience provides a world-class business education with a unique, entrepreneurial focus on real-world scenarios where students put what they learn into practice long before graduation. Founded in 1917 and educating more than 6,000 students annually, the University of Utah David Eccles School of Business offers nine undergraduate majors, four MBAs, nine other graduate programs, a Ph.D. in seven areas and executive education curricula. The School is also home to 12 institutes, centers and initiatives that deliver academic research and support an ecosystem of entrepreneurship and innovation. For more information, visit Eccles.Utah.edu or call 801-581-7676.
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