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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A week before she began college in 2019, the Little Rock native was set to attend another college as a biology major, but Temples had a change of heart and has never looked back.

鈥淚 had a gut feeling that I should go to 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock and study something that was more interesting to me than biology,鈥� Temples said. 鈥淚 knew 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock had a good business program and was the only college in the state with a real estate program. That is what really piqued my interest.鈥�

While Temples is graduating this semester with a double finance degree in general finance and real estate, she has already started her new career as an assistant property manager in the Property Management Division at Colliers International.

鈥淭hrough 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock鈥檚 Real Estate Program, I got to attend many events with the Commercial Real Estate Council,鈥� Temples said. 鈥淭hat is where I made connections with many people who work at Colliers, and that is why I knew I鈥檇 really like the job, because of the great work environment at Colliers International.鈥�

While at 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock, Temples served as president of the Finance and Economics Association, where she helped organize events with leading industry experts in Arkansas. Additionally, she volunteers as a housing liaison, where she helps the homeless find affordable housing.

Temples said the highlight of her college career was being a part of the team that won the Real Estate Challenge this semester in Chicago, which brought in $5,000 for scholarships for real estate students at 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock. 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.

鈥淚t was a phenomenal experience, and I absolutely loved it,鈥� she said. 鈥淢y favorite part was getting to see the full scale of a large development project, and what goes on from the beginning stages of planning to the end stages of the proposal. I learned so much knowledge that will be invaluable to my future career.鈥�

The new graduate leaves future 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock students with the following advice.

鈥淚t鈥檚 great to form connections and grow in your professionalism,鈥� Temples said. 鈥淕oing to events in the industry you want to work in is critical. Reach out to your professors and try to form connections with them. They have a lot of resources to help you get involved in your industry.鈥�

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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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