Master of Real Estate Development

Year: 2018

CPRED Announces Shared Program Model and Bihl Annual Fellowship

August 27, 2018

The Clemson University Department of City Planning and Real Estate Development (CPRED) is excited to announce a simplified curriculum between its two departmental programs. Beginning in Fall 2018, students can pursue a Master of Real Estate Development (MRED) degree and a Master of City and Regional Planning (MCRP) degree as a shared program model.

The shared program model is made possible, in large part, to a recent annual fellowship created by James Michael Bihl (’02) and Jennifer Tropea Bihl (’99, M’ 00) that provides support for students whose professional interests and academic focus will further the integration of the planning, development, and traffic/transportation engineering fields to help build successful and sustainable communities. Students who are concurrently enrolled or enrolling in the MRED Program, and the MCRP Program, are eligible recipients of the James M. Bihl and Jennifer T. Bihl Annual Fellowship.

This fall, CPRED welcomed Kiersten Cedeno as the first student enrolled in the MRED/MCRP shared program curriculum and as the first recipient of the James M. Bihl and Jennifer T. Bihl Annual Fellowship. Kiersten is a June 2018 graduate of the Savannah College of Art and Design with a Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) in architecture. From her architecture background, Kiersten is in not only interested in how specific architectural choices impact communities, but also how to view communities and their integrated pieces from a holistic lens. Kiersten will complete academic requirements in the MRED Program and then continue her academic requirements in MCRP.

Recipients of the James M. Bihl and Jennifer T. Bihl Annual Fellowship must meet the following residential criteria: 1) Graduated from a high school in South Carolina, North Carolina or Georgia; or 2) Obtained an undergraduate degree from an institution in South Carolina, North Carolina or Georgia; or 3) has established residency as defined by Clemson University in South Carolina, North Carolina, or Georgia continuously for at least the previous four years.

Future students interested in learning more about the shared program model, should contact CPRED department chair, Dr. John Gaber.

CPRED & MRED Welcome Stephen Buckman!

August 15, 2018

The faculty and staff in the department of City Planning and Real Estate Development are excited to welcome a new assistant professor beginning Fall 2018.

Stephen Buckman comes to Clemson University from the School of Public Affairs-Department of Urban Planning at the University of South Florida, where in 2017 he received a new researcher grant for his research, “Local First as Community Economic Resiliency: Local First Arizona and Local First Grand Rapids.” Professor Buckman completed his Ph.D. in Geography at Arizona State University, and will be teaching for the real estate development and city and regional planning programs. His research centers on resiliency pertaining to the built form in relation to economic, environmental, and social issues.

UBJ Features Lawrence Black’s on Greenville’s Southern Bleachery site

May 10, 2018

The May 4, 2018 issue of the Upstate Business Journal featured the work of Master of Real Estate Development student, Lawrence Black. Black, along with his wife Ashleigh, are transforming the Southern Bleachery site at Taylors Mill. Black is expected to graduate in August 2018.

Read the full article here.

 

Brian Ordonez Selected as SIOR Student Experience Scholarship Recipient

March 8, 2018

Brian Ordonez
MRED Student Brian Ordonez

December 2018 MRED candidate Brian Ordonez was selected on Wednesday, March 7, 2018 as a recipient of the Society of Industrial and Office Realtors® (SIOR) Student Experience Program Scholarship. Brian was one of two students chosen by the Carolinas SIOR Chapter to attend the upcoming 2018 SIOR Spring World Conference in Austin, Texas, April 11-14, 2018. A total of seven students from across the nation were selected to participate in the student experience program. Program recipients will be provided with up to $2,000 of funding to cover commercial real estate conference expenses, including registration, hotel and travel.

As an attendee of the conference, students will be assigned a sponsoring SIOR member who will serve as a mentor throughout the event. After the conference, students will be invited to a local chapter meeting to speak to the group about their experience.

MRED Students Win ULI Carolinas Urban Ideas Competition

February 23, 2018

MRED students Shelley Pelliccione, Claire Sanders, James Malm, Jason Hull, and Christian Grabeman were one of several multidisciplinary teams from around the Carolinas who were invited to submit proposals for redevelopment a vacant city block on the historic Georgetown, S.C. waterfront and a neighboring city-owned island. The goal of the competition was to surface innovative ideas and practical solutions in design and development that can positively impact the community and its built environment.

The Clemson MRED team project, Sea Change, was selected as one of two finalist teams and the team was asked to present their proposal in front of a jury panel at the ULI Carolinas meeting on Tuesday, February 13, 2018. Sea Change was chosen as the Urban Ideas Competition winner above Palimpsest.

Dr. Robert Benedict served as the academic advisor and Parks McLeod of McLeod Landscape Architects in Greenville, SC served as the team’s professional advisor.

 

 

 

 

 

 

To learn more about the Urban Ideas Competition, see: https://carolinas.uli.org/session/concurrent-session-2-urban-ideas-competition/

Q&A with Tom Fox, Owner, FOX Commercial Properties

February 15, 2018

Tom Fox with his wife in the Austrian Alps in Summer 2017.
MRED Spotlight-Questions & Answers.

Q&A with Tom Fox, Owner, FOX Commercial Properties
Fox Commercial Properties specializes in the development of grocery-anchored shopping centers and commercial real estate investment.

How was the experience of teaching your first MRED Class? “I really enjoyed teaching last Fall’s Market Analysis class. It was my first time teaching and it gave me a whole new level of appreciation for all the incredible teachers I had when I was a student. The students in the program are incredibly bright and many of them are already amazingly accomplished and they challenged me to make each class as educational and as interesting as I could make it.”

What are your thoughts on the outlook of retail? “I think the grocery store business, at least in the Carolina’s is in a little bit of a funk right now. We’ve had a number of new grocers enter the market but most have unexpectedly stopped their expansion plans. Amazon’s acquisition of Whole Foods is probably partly to blame but I also think that the Carolina’s are overstored which, as a developer, is not easy to admit. I also think we’re going to see some further consolidation in the grocery store market over the next couple of years which is making matters a little more confusing. Fortunately the Carolina’s are growing and will continue to grow so the need for more and better grocery stores will always be there and will help remedy the current malaise quickly!”

Tom Fox on a recent golf adventure in Ireland.

Are there any current deals you’re excited about (if you can disclose)? “Despite the funk previously mentioned, I am working on a new grocery-anchored center outside of Fayetteville, NC and I’m optimistic that we’ll get it off the ground. I’m also working on a new 30,000sf industrial project in Greenville, which is a first for me, so that’s very exciting and some friends and I continue to invest in interesting opportunities in the area.”