Presented by the , the Real Estate Challenge immerses students in real-world development scenarios. Teams research market conditions, community demographics, local history, and Chicago city policies to create viable project proposals.

Representing 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock are Kodiak Cannedy, Brennan Gasaway, Isabel Hortelano, Ryan Hunt, and Ashley Lopez, led by instructor Elizabeth Small.

Their research includes studying the surrounding real estate market, learning an area鈥檚 history, analyzing community demographics, and examining the Chicago City Council鈥檚 positions on economic development. Teams also evaluate the financial aspects of their ideas by exploring financing options, projected returns, and potential partnerships.

Through this process, students see how the fundamentals of successful development in Chicago apply anywhere. They also begin to understand how a concept can move from an idea to a real-world project, helping prepare them for future careers in the field.

鈥淲atching students reach that realization is always one of the most rewarding parts of the experience,鈥� Small said.

The Real Estate Challenge will welcome 29 undergraduate and graduate teams from universities across the country to compete in a high-profile redevelopment project in Chicago鈥檚 South Loop neighborhood. Each team is assigned the same project and core information, ensuring a level playing field to develop a comprehensive plan to maximize a property鈥檚 potential from financial and feasibility perspectives.

The 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock team will present its analysis and recommendations to maximize the site鈥檚 potential. A panel of industry leaders will judge the presentations and select the finalists and winners.

Small has taken four teams to Chicago for the Eisenberg Challenge. In 2023, her team took first place, and the 2024 team finished second in the final round.

鈥淲e are looking forward to this year鈥檚 challenge, and the determination to do well is strong,鈥� she said.

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The new fund will support student travel, competitions, presentations, and other enrichment opportunities that bring classroom learning to life for students in the School of Business and the Department of Construction Management and Civil and Construction Engineering.

Murray, a 2003 graduate of 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock鈥檚 business management program, said the fund was inspired by his desire to give back to the university that helped shape his entrepreneurial journey.

鈥淚 know not everyone at 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock has access to the same resources or opportunities as students at larger schools,鈥� Murray said. 鈥淭hese kinds of real-world experiences鈥攖raveling, competing, and presenting鈥攈elp students gain confidence and professional skills that are incredibly valuable in business and construction. This is a way for me to invest in their future and in our local workforce.鈥�

Founded in 2010, Murray Contractors has worked on several projects at 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock, including renovations in the Reynolds Business Building, the demolition of the former Education Building, and pedestrian bridge replacement in front of the Engineering Technology and Applied Sciences Building. But Murray said this gift offered a more personal opportunity to support the university community.

鈥淭his campus has meant a lot to me over the years, and contributing to the student experience helps strengthen our whole community,鈥� he said. 鈥淚f we don鈥檛 support our future business leaders as they graduate from our own local institutions, then who will?鈥�

The fund recently supported a student team that competed in the Harold E. Eisenberg Foundation鈥檚 Annual Real Estate Challenge in Chicago in April. Murray attended a presentation by the students and said he was blown away by their professionalism and preparation.

鈥淭hey didn鈥檛 present like students. They presented like business professionals,鈥� Murray said. 鈥淚 was incredibly impressed by their speaking skills, their visuals, and their command of the project. Watching that made me proud to be part of this effort.鈥�

Elizabeth Small, instructor of real estate development, said Murray鈥檚 support and presence at the student presentation added meaningful validation to their work.

鈥淧atrick Murray鈥檚 contribution to the student experience was much appreciated,鈥� Small said. 鈥淗e understands the real estate development process and how important construction is to owners. This is the basis of the student competition, and it was fun to have Mr. Murray in the room to hear the student presentation, make comments, and converse with the team. He confirmed that their work is 鈥榬eal world.鈥欌��

Murray hopes the fund will open doors for students to gain experiences he didn鈥檛 have himself as a student.

鈥淚 didn鈥檛 get to do things like this when I was in college,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 was focused on racing motocross and school. But seeing these students take the initiative to go above and beyond is inspiring. Those are the people I want to work with one day.鈥�

He credits the encouragement and leadership of Christian O鈥橬eal, vice chancellor for university advancement, as one of the driving forces behind his decision to create the fund.

鈥淐hristian鈥檚 energy and commitment to this campus are contagious,鈥� Murray said. 鈥淗is passion for growing this university made me want to be part of that effort.鈥�

Through this gift, Murray hopes to foster both educational excellence and a strong talent pipeline for central Arkansas.

鈥淏eing able to contribute to 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock helps contribute to our own community,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 not just about giving back. It鈥檚 about investing in the people who will help build the future of this city.鈥�

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糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock came in second during the Undergraduate Division of the , which matches teams from selected universities in a competition that normally focuses on a high-profile development/redevelopment project in the Chicago Metropolitan area.

The award-winning students were led by Elizabeth Small, director of business networks and instructor of real estate development. The team included Osman Bagandov, a recent finance graduate, Adison Cummings, a junior architectural and civil engineering major, Ashlin Graveline, a recent finance-real estate graduate, and Lamar Townsend, who just graduated with bachelor鈥檚 degrees in political science and finance-real estate.

鈥淭he students were dynamic, exciting, and well prepared,鈥� Small said. 鈥淭hey had a lot of confidence going into the competition, which was refreshing and reassuring. I am so proud of this team for all their hard work, research, and innovation.鈥�

This is the first year that the competition focused on a non-Chicago project, instead choosing a development project from St. Louis. This twist provided an interesting dynamic for the students, who had the opportunity to travel to St. Louis to view the site before the competition. In previous years, the team had to rely on photos and virtual tours and weren鈥檛 able to visit the site in person before traveling to Chicago for the competition.

The team made their presentation to the Eisenberg Foundation on April 14, with the four students sporting matching business outfits provided by Paul Rainwater, owner of in the Promenade at Chenal. He donated his time and skills to create the custom outfits so the team would be dressed for success as they defended their title. 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock took first place in the competition in 2023 and won a $5,000 scholarship for their efforts.

鈥淚n the judges鈥� comments, one judge even stated that we were the best dressed team at the competition,鈥� Small said.

糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock faced some tough teams in the high-profile competition, including Auburn University, Illinois Institute of Technology, Ohio State, Michigan State, Rutgers, University of Notre Dame, Marquette University, Purdue, and Tulane.

There were so many teams competing this year that Eisenberg split the Undergraduate Division into two different tracks, and the winners of the two tracks competed head on to determine the winner. 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock won their track, but eventually lost to Tulane University in the final round, who took home the title and a $7,500 scholarship.

鈥淚 love this competition,鈥� said Cummings, who is the only non-business student on the team. 鈥淚 love the real-world concept behind the competition and getting to go through the process of development, seeing the site, and then creating what we envision for it.鈥�

Each team was assigned the same case site and provided the essential information assumptions about a 21-acre property in St. Louis along the Mississippi River.

鈥淥ur goal was to use the information given to come up with a full redevelopment plan, a revitalization plan for a 21-acre site in St. Louis that is about a mile away from the Arch and a mile away from downtown St. Louis,鈥� said Townsend, who served as the team leader. 鈥淭his site was supposed to be the location for the new stadium for the Rams before they moved to Los Angeles. We created a mixed-use development to enhance the area and also create a new place where people can live and work.鈥�

The 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock team came up with a plan that included renovating four of the five historical buildings. The redevelopment plan included three apartment buildings with first-floor retail shops, an underground parking lot, storage facilities, a Japanese-themed brewery, an event hall, a river walk along the Mississippi River, and an amphitheater with plenty of green space for residents.

Graveline even created an app for the planned development that would have served as an online community for the residents as well as a way to connect with all the businesses.

鈥淥ur plan was to create an app that would connect people with all of the businesses so that they wouldn鈥檛 have to go to multiple websites or apps to make a reservation, learn about the business, or find out when an event was happening,鈥� Graveline said. 鈥淭he app also gave a description of the history of each building because it鈥檚 a historically rich area. We wanted to create a community where people didn鈥檛 have to leave the area to find what they needed.鈥�

One of the biggest challenges of the competition was the financial aspect. The students鈥� development plan had to contain a comprehensive analysis and conclusion of how to maximize the potential of the property from both a financial and feasibility standpoint.

鈥淥ur total project cost was about $179 million,鈥� Bagandov said. 鈥淲e had to make sure we were able to manage the property for 10 years, after which it could be sold. We ended up financing the project with loans from three different banks, because dividing the financing up makes the project more palatable to lenders.鈥�

The project also had to be self-sustainable and generate a certain amount of profit. This led to a lot of changes throughout the plans, including nixing a hotel and marina, switching from townhouses to apartment buildings, and adding first-floor retail space. Overall, the team members were very satisfied with the final product.

鈥淭he idea was to bring everybody back to the river,鈥� Cummings said. 鈥淲e wanted people to get close to the river as well as preserve the historical and architectural details of the property.鈥�

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Paul Rainwater, owner of in the Promenade at Chenal, has donated his time and skills to create custom business outfits for a team of 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock students who will be competing in the Harold E. Eisenberg Foundation鈥檚 Annual Real Estate Challenge in April. Trojan Champions, a new initiative of the 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock Annual Fund, donated the cost of the materials for the business outfits.

鈥淚 chose for these students a classic business look, a navy blazer and gray business pants,鈥� Rainwater said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a timeless, classic look right out of the 鈥楧ress for Success鈥� formula. I first got that book in 1976, and there is a whole chapter on the navy blazer. It鈥檚 a timeless look that they can use for meetings, interviews, and business activities. If there is anything that has more than one purpose, it鈥檚 a blazer. You can also wear it with jeans and khakis. It has a lot of versatility to dress up and down.鈥�

Rainwater is a seasoned veteran in the fashion industry with five decades of invaluable experience under his belt. He opened his first shop in 1974 and is currently celebrating his 50th anniversary of being in the clothing business.

鈥淚鈥檝e always built my business on making friends, and I can鈥檛 think of a better investment than college students who are on their way up in the world,鈥� Rainwater said.

The Eisenberg Foundation Challenge matches teams from selected universities in a competition focusing on a high-profile development/redevelopment project. Last year, 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock鈥檚 team won the competition for the first time, and they are competing for a $7,500 scholarship during this year鈥檚 competition.

鈥淲e as a team were trying to coordinate what we were going to wear so we could look in unison during our presentation, and actually getting a custom suit that makes us all look so sharp is a huge blessing and is just really awesome for us as a team,鈥� said Osman Bagandov, a senior finance major. 鈥淲ith 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock winning the competition last year, the target is definitely on our backs, but we are embracing the challenge and hoping to deliver a great presentation and hopefully win back-to-back titles.鈥�

Elizabeth Small, director of business networks and instructor of real estate development, will be leading the team of students 鈥� Bagandov, Adison Cummings, Ashlin Graveline, and Lamar Townsend 鈥� who all have a keen interest in commercial real estate development.

鈥淭he school is sending us back in style, and we are just showing the other schools that we have quite a few new tricks up our sleeve,鈥� said Adison Cummings, a senior architectural and civil engineering major. 鈥淚 definitely see myself wearing this outfit to potential job interviews or any other events where I may need to dress up. It’s a snazzy outfit.鈥�

Ashlin Graveline, a senior finance and real estate major, thinks having the outfit will be beneficial during the competition and after.

鈥淚 am so thankful for receiving a custom outfit for the real estate competition,鈥� Graveline said. 鈥淭he team has worked very hard on this project, and it will be rewarding to see the presentation and ideas come together. The outfit will be very beneficial with the competition and outside of it. It will be great for multiple uses, an example being a job interview.鈥�

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The was started in 2015 with the aim of providing undergraduate and graduate students valuable experience in real estate to launch their careers. Students are nominated for the scholarship by their university and are selected by a panel of judges.

鈥淲hen I found out I had won the scholarship, I was really excited, shocked, and humbled,鈥� said Townsend. 鈥淭his big foundation in a giant city has reached out to a kid from Arkansas and saw my potential. I鈥檓 nervous and definitely want to put forth my full effort. This is a big opportunity. I am excited to learn more about something I鈥檓 passionate about.鈥�

Earlier this year, Townsend was a member of the group of students at 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock who won a national Real Estate Challenge in Chicago, also through the Eisenberg Foundation. The challenge connects groups of students at selected universities to a high-profile property development project in the Chicago Metropolitan area. Each team must present a development plan to maximize the property鈥檚 potential. 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock was the Undergraduate Division Winner, receiving $5,000 to support the finance/real estate program at 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock.

It was through the Real Estate Challenge that Townsend first learned about the Scholar Program.

鈥淚t really piqued my interest to learn more about the Scholar Program,鈥� Townsend said. 鈥淎fter we won the challenge, Professor Small nominated me for the program.鈥�

The 10-month Real Estate Scholar Program is focused on mentorship and networking and gives students opportunities to make connections in the real estate industry. Students are connected with a 鈥渟uper mentor,鈥� attend meetings and conferences with industry professionals, go on field trips, and even attend the International Council of Shopping Centers Las Vegas convention.

鈥淭his is a big opportunity to get my foot in the door with networking,鈥� Townsend said. 鈥淚n this industry, it鈥檚 all about who you know and who knows who. Recently, I was able to attend an event in Chicago, and I got 10 business cards from big names in Chicago. This program really gives me the ability to build a network.鈥�

Townsend expressed his gratitude to the 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock School of Business, Dr. Mark Funk, and Professor Elizabeth Small.

鈥淚 want to say a big thank you to the School of Business and to Dr. Funk and Professor Small,鈥� Townsend said. 鈥淭hey are the ones who are making this possible for me. They have helped me fund my trips to Chicago and overall have been a big help in allowing me to do this.鈥�

After graduation, Townsend plans to work in commercial real estate and hopes to later attend law school after gaining hands-on experience in the field.

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糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock was the Undergraduate Division Winner of the , which matches teams from selected universities in a competition focusing on a high-profile development/redevelopment project in the Chicago Metropolitan area.

糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock was one of a dozen teams competing in the high-profile competition, including Georgia State, Tulane, Loyola, Marquette, Michigan State, Ohio State, and the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana.

鈥淲hen they said our name, I was in total disbelief that we had actually won,鈥� said Lamar Townsend, a junior double major in finance-real estate and political science from Maumelle. 鈥淲e were up against some very elite and highly resourced schools, so I thought our chances of winning were slim. However, I am honored and humbled that the Eisenberg Foundation gave us the opportunity to participate in this opportunity. It was truly a great experience.鈥�

Each team is assigned the same case site and provided the same essential information and assumptions about the property. The students鈥� development plan must constitute a comprehensive analysis and conclusion of how to maximize the potential of the property from both a quantitative (financial) and qualitative (feasibility) standpoint.

鈥淲e decided to place an entertainment venue with retail and restaurants at the waterfront and then an office building and learning center on the interior of the island,鈥� said Adison Cummings, a junior double majoring in architectural engineering and civil engineering from Texarkana. 鈥淲e wanted to make that area a bustling hub to help bring back life into Goose Island.鈥�

The award-winning students were all a part of the Real Estate Development course taught by Elizabeth Small, director of business networks and instructor of real estate development.

The winning students include Adison Cummings, Paige Goodale, David Lopez, Victoria Temples, and Lamar Townsend. Presenting teams were limited to five students, but 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock students Jake Anderson and Mika Berry were also members of the real estate class who worked on the project. In Chicago, the team was assisted by industry mentors Jenna Goebig and Siteng Ma.

鈥淲e had a wonderful teacher and mentors, coaching us through the process. They provided us with the connections we needed, as well as helping us to present,鈥� said Paige Goodale, a senior double majoring in business finance and real estate. 鈥淚 learned so much about development that I never expected to learn, like how to create a letter of intent, targeting a market audience, eliminating ideas that don’t work, contacting business owners, creating connections, the process of creating comps, and how financing and construction costs are created.鈥�

Small added that her students went above and beyond on this project, letting nothing, not even a tornado, stand in their way.

鈥淭he students鈥� project paper was actually due at 4 p.m. March 31, the day the tornado struck Little Rock and Central Arkansas,鈥� Small said. 鈥淲hile our Zoom meetings kept getting interrupted for students to take shelter, the paper got turned in with eight minutes to spare. One student, Jake Anderson, had to leave to check on his grandmother鈥檚 house in Little Rock, but his first question that evening was whether the paper got turned in on time. I鈥檝e never seen such a dedicated group of students.鈥�

The students traveled to Chicago on April 14 and got to tour Goose Island, the site of the redevelopment project for the Eisenberg Foundation鈥檚 Annual Real Estate Challenge, with Goebig. Their second industry mentor, Ma, is in China, but met with the group virtually to give them tips for their presentation. Remarkably, Ma is a graduate of Little Rock Central High School, and his parents have both worked at 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock in the past, leading to his desire to serve as a mentor to 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock鈥檚 team.

The team made their presentation to the Eisenberg Foundation on April 15, with four out of five students sporting business outfits they picked from 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock鈥檚 Trojan Career Closet. The students proposed what to build on a three-acre empty waterfront lot and a six-story abandoned storage building. They decided on a multi-use office building called “The Cove,鈥� with space for an LA Fitness on the top floor, a STEM innovation hub, an art gallery, WeWork space, and rooftop green space for the abandoned building.

鈥淲e wanted to renovate the building with an adaptive reuse technique for sustainability reasons,鈥� Townsend said. 鈥淭he other waterfront site would be called 鈥楾he Boatyard,鈥� and this was planned to be a destination entertainment venue with a 125,000 square-foot building with multiple vendors including Keg Grove Brewery and a space for a bowling/ arcade area. We also wanted a lot of green space along the waterfront, a water taxi stop, and space for an outdoor stage.鈥�

Victoria Temples, a senior real estate and finance major from Little Rock, added that the two proposed mixed-use buildings would create a bustling community hub that would complement the area developing around it.

鈥淎 new casino, a nearly 3,000-unit apartment complex, and expansive river trail system are currently underway, so our developments greatly enhance the surrounding area,鈥� Temples said. 鈥淏ecause we had a varied mix of uses, our development can be utilized 24/7, which is very important for the Chicago area.鈥�

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The awarded the Real Estate program with the Commercial Real Estate Impact Award. The council created the award to honor individuals and organizations who make an impact on the types of experiences and outcomes that are crucial to a healthy commercial real estate market.

鈥淚 think the 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock Real Estate program is a perfect example of an impact award,鈥� said Susan Hill Gel茅, executive director of the Commercial Real Estate Council of Metro Little Rock. 鈥淭he decision a student makes to follow a particular field of study will impact them for the rest of their lives. The impact on workforce development is clear from the students and graduates who have interned or accepted full-time positions with local real estate companies.鈥�

Elizabeth Small, instructor of real estate and director of business networks, accepted the award on behalf of the university during the Fifth Annual Commercial Real Estate Awards Ceremony held Feb. 21 at the Arkansas Pharmacists Association Building, which was the recipient of the Project of the Year Award.

鈥淩eceiving this award helps legitimize all the concepts we teach the students,鈥� she said. 鈥淚t was thrilling to realize there are so many agencies, companies, and organizations in town that appreciate our program and our students, and it provided awareness of our Real Estate program to those who may not realize what a resource we are.鈥�

Small reflected that receiving the award was especially memorable because the 鈥渟upport from the university was overwhelming to me. It took my breath away.鈥� She was joined by students and alumni of the Real Estate program as well as colleagues from the School of Business and Alumni and Development.

Under the leadership of Small, the 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock School of Business began to restructure the Real Estate program in 2017. By 2020, the curriculum offered incoming freshmen a degree that integrated real estate classroom education with experiential learning and research in real estate issues and policy.

鈥淭he current students are involved in entrepreneurial activities and development projects and benefit from panels of executives with real life experience in the real estate industry and exposure to regulatory issues involving real choices and opportunities,鈥� Gel茅 said.

Some of those professional development opportunities are offered by the Commercial Real Estate Council of Metro Little Rock, which has hosted photo scavenger hunts, panel discussions, and Women in Real Estate events that 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock students regularly attend. Learn more about the School of Business by visiting the website.

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