The Utah Real Estate Challenge wraps up for 2024 – first-place winners take home $20,000 prize
Three teams presented real estate development proposals for the ballpark neighborhood of Salt Lake City at a luncheon on Thursday, April 11 at The Grand America Hotel. The teams were the finalists in the annual Utah Real Estate Challenge (UREC), which is supported each year by the Ivory-Boyer Real Estate Center and the David Eccles School of Business Master of Real Estate Development program.
Taking first place and the $20,000 prize was Red Arch Development with their project called The Outfield, a 216-unit mixed-use development, prominently featuring a public library. The Outfield also features strong emphasis on promoting family values by creating a nexus that preserves the authentic history of the neighborhood while also providing housing opportunities for families of all backgrounds. Team members included Sagan Gotberg, Kristofer Long, Vance Siebers, and Camden Woll, all from the University of Utah.
Second and third place went to Revive Development Group and Apis Partners, respectively.
Revive’s project, Fender Station, is a mixed-use project just northwest of the Bees’ home field. The project includes market-rate and affordable apartment units, townhomes, condos, retail, and restaurant space. This site accommodates the growing demand in the area for rentable and for-sale living space. It serves to establish an enduring urban village, characterized by a community of long-term residents. Team members Ted Arlington, Rex Buys, Harrison Merrill, Kennedy Perry, and Peter Redd took home $10,000. The students hail from the University of Utah and Utah State University.
Apis Partners earned third place and $5,000 for their project, The Diamond District. The development focuses on community safety, small business growth, and local engagement through a mix of retail space, for-rent apartments, and for-sale townhomes. The proposal featured plans for innovative financing and leveraging city programs, including the state’s new HB572 program for affordable housing. Apis Partners is made up of Eli Falk, Payton Smoot, Molly Sutherland, Spencer Ward, and Matt Wilcox from Utah State University and the University of Utah.
“The professionalism and level of detail these student teams display is truly remarkable,” commented David Bauman, Executive Director of the Ivory-Boyer Real Estate Center (IBREC). “The grasp of real estate concepts that these UREC finalists demonstrate is noteworthy. The event fosters the type of experiential learning that allows these graduates to set themselves apart.”
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. 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.
