PHOENIX, ARIZONA (December 18, 2023) –The Arizona Chapter of NAIOP, the Commercial Real Estate Development Association, partnered again this semester with Junior Achievement of Arizona to teach a course entitled Real Estate Development and the Built Environment to students at GateWay Early College High School.
During the six-week program, volunteers from NAIOP Arizona taught students the basics of commercial real estate development, including different building types, entitlements, and zoning, financing a project, putting together a team, and finding tenants.
NAIOP volunteer instructors included Rodney Boden and Alex Boles, ViaWest Group; Eric Whitehurst, Kimley-Horn; Chad Schleicher, City of Tempe; David Kinney, Raintree Capital; Lucy Ray, Western Alliance Bank; Gonzo Gonzalez, Keeley Construction; Vicente Ruiz, Trammell Crow Company; Stirling Pascal, Stream Realty; and Jennifer Villalobos, Cushman & Wakefield.
“Each semester our partnership with Junior Achievement and GateWay Early College High School becomes stronger,” said Suzanne Kinney, President and CEO of NAIOP Arizona. “We are honored to be able to offer this curriculum to students who may become future commercial real estate professionals.”
The program culminated with a student competition on Dec. 6. Four teams presented their projects to a group of five NAIOP volunteers who evaluated the projects from the perspective of potential investors. Serving as judges were Eric Whitehurst, Kimley-Horn; Gonzo Gonzalez, Keeley Construction; Stirling Pascal, Stream Realty; Jennifer Villalobos, Cushman & Wakefield; and Danny Swancey, ViaWest Group.
“It was great to hear my students preparing for their presentations and to listen in on their amazing conversations about the buildings. Some students talked about how long it would take to build these buildings. Some talked about the location of these buildings and why they would put them in by certain businesses. They started paying attention to details about their buildings such as parking and window coverings,” said Darnetta Fair, teacher at GateWay Early College High School. “These students were owning this project! That is when I realized what an impact this learning and Junior Achievement has had on my students. They were exposed to careers and other learning objectives that they otherwise might not have been able to take part of.”
The winning group, called Skyline Offices, presented an employee-centric office project in Tempe. The six students in the winning group were presented with first-place certificates and Amazon gift cards.
About NAIOP
NAIOP, the Commercial Real Estate Development Association, is the leading organization for developers, owners and related professionals in office, industrial, retail, multifamily and mixed-use real estate. NAIOP comprises 20,000 members in North America. The Arizona Chapter is among the largest in the bi-national network with over 1,000 members and is among the largest in the 50+ network. For more information, visit naiop.org or naiopaz.org.
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