Desert Science Development won the 2023 REIAC/Rockefeller Group Challenge.

PHOENIX, ARIZ. (April 16, 2024) – The 11th REIAC/Rockefeller Group Challenge will again offer a cash prize to a winning team of graduating Masters of Real Estate Development (MRED) students from Arizona State University’s W. P. Carey School of Business.

The event is May 2 at Arizona Country Club, 4668 E. Orange Blossom Lane, in Phoenix. Registration and networking begin at 3:30 p.m. The presentations are from 4 p.m. to 5 p.m. with voting and announcement of the winning team shortly after. A networking mixer will be held after the announcement.

“The membership of our REIAC chapter is grateful for the opportunity to work with Arizona State University and provide support and guidance to our next generation of developers in Arizona,” said REIAC Southwest President Arthur J. Ferrari III, President of LineageCRE. “These are bright young people who represent the future of our industry.”

Three competing teams of graduating ASU MRED students will each present their response to a request for development proposal created by MRED and the City of Mesa for a 7.65-acre parcel of land located at the NEC of Main Street and North Stapley Drive owned by Mesa.

“This is their thesis – their culminating experience requiring use of all they have learned,” said Mark Stapp, Executive Director of the MRED program. “These projects are wicked problems that test students’ knowledge and would challenge anyone, even the most experienced of us.”

Each team will have 10 minutes to present. The winning team will be selected by REIAC members in the audience. Winning team members will each receive $1,000.

“The Rockefeller Group is honored to participate in what has become an annual tradition that has provided additional motivation for MRED students to be selected as one of the top three teams to compete in the Challenge,” said Mark Singerman, Past President of the REIAC Southwest Chapter and Vice President/Regional Director-Arizona for The Rockefeller Group, the event’s title sponsor.

“The inspiring and creative solutions the teams have presented at the Challenge over the years demonstrate what a fabulous job Mark Stapp and his staff have done in preparing the students for careers in real estate development and investment,” Singerman said.

Registration is required for the event. Registration fee is $30 for non-members and $20 for students and closes May 1. Register here.

 About REIAC

 The Real Estate Investment Advisory Council (REIAC) was established as a nonprofit trade association to provide a forum for the exchange of ideas, concerns and experiences among senior executives who conduct commercial real estate transactions. The invitation-only group limits its membership to senior-level executives at companies, who act as principals, and whose function is to develop, acquire, manage and/or finance commercial real estate. Institutional quality programs and peer-to-peer relationship-building opportunities have established REAIC’s reputation throughout the national real estate investment community as one of its premier associations. www.reiac.org

 About MRED

 In nine months, the W. P. Carey Master of Real Estate Development (MRED) prepares students to lead real estate development projects that are environmentally respectful, socially responsible, and artfully designed. The MRED program is transdisciplinary, aligning principled instruction with dynamic real-world application. MRED is a unique partnership between four highly regarded schools within Arizona State University:

 

###