Master of Real Estate Development

Clemson Graduate Students Compete in ULI Hines Student Competition

Posted on by Amy Herrick

Five Clemson University graduate students in the Master of Real Estate Development Program (MRED), the Master of City and Regional Planning Program (MCRP) and the Master of Historic Preservation Program (MSHP) get set in January 2019 to compete in the national ULI Hines Student Competition. In its 17th year, teams of five students from at least three disciplines participate in the ideas competition to devise a “development program for a real site in a North American city, providing designs, market-based financial data, and related narratives.” (ULI Hines Student Competition)

The Clemson students competing as a multi-disciplinary team in this year’s challenge include Caitlin Coppinger (MCRP), Sean Dorsy (MRED), Alex Pemberton (MRED), James Poulnot (MRED), and Kendra Waters (MSHP). According to ULI, the competition “challenges students to collaborate across disciplines and imagine a better built environment.”

This year’s team will use the knowledge acquired during their academic years at Clemson University and various design, community planning, preservation and architecture experience each gained individually in their undergraduate education and careers before joining their respective graduate programs.

Each team will have two weeks for design their comprehensive design, January 14-28, 2019. The 2019 site is Cincinnati, Ohio. Toronto hosted the 2018 competition.

The winning team receives $50,000 and the finalist teams receive $10,000. Stay tuned for finalist team announcements in February 2019 and finalist teams presentation and winner announcements in April 2019.

Learn more about the ULI Hines Student Competition

Learn more about Clemson University’s MRED, MCRP, and MSHP Programs

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CPRED Announces Shared Program Model and Bihl Annual Fellowship

Posted on by Amy Herrick

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.

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CPRED & MRED Welcome Stephen Buckman!

Posted on by Amy Herrick

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.

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Brian Ordonez Selected as SIOR Student Experience Scholarship Recipient

Posted on by Amy Herrick
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.

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MRED Students Win ULI Carolinas Urban Ideas Competition

Posted on by Amy Herrick

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/

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

Posted on by Amy Herrick
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.”

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2017 Practicum Presentations

Posted on by Amy Herrick

Clemson University’s December 2017 graduates from the Master of Real Estate Development program completed their final Practicum projects in November of 2017, presenting to a professional jury that consisted of Julie Franklin, Justin Hirsch, David Rosenberg, and Craig Stipes. Since 2004, these capstone projects have been sponsored by the Society of Industrial and Office Realtors (SIOR) Foundation®, through the SIOR Carolinas Chapter, which awards an annual scholarship to the winning team.

In years past, students used the practicum to prepare a detailed feasibility analysis and development proposal for real sites across the Southeast region. This was the first year where teams submitted packages on mix-used development sites in a case study format. Teams were able to select their own projects for the case study and were required to highlight site, market, and financial analyses in their reporting. Each team incorporated information about the developer’s goal, while highlighting the history, challenges, and benefits that these developments have stimulated. This year’s competition also marked the first year there was a three way tie. Below are the following teams that were awarded a scholarship by the professional jurors:

Drayton Mill – Hemadi Hamam, Kurt Wallenborn, and Daniel Wright
Midtown – Brunson Miller, Andrew Simmons, and Wes Whitlock
Pacific Box and Crate – Andrew Cohen, Stuart Hall, and Craig Gearhart

Drayton Mill: Drayton Mills is a historic textile mill, located in Spartanburg, SC, that has been transformed into a thriving mixed-use development with 289 luxury apartment units and 70,000 square feet of office and retail. The once prosperous textile mill closed in 1994 and was slated for demolition. TMS Development could not tolerate destroying this piece of history and decided to purchase and redevelop the property. Working with the community TMS has successfully recreated the mill village, which is the largest historic rehabilitation in the state of South Carolina to date. Most local residents had forgotten that mill village once existed here, so repositioning the site was a challenge. Through a tremendous collaboration between the Developer and local officials, the mill quickly became an attraction to the area.



Midtown: Midtown is an urban infill mixed-use development project located in the renowned historic district of downtown Charleston, South Carolina, with frontage on King, Spring, and Meeting Street. Overcoming a fourteen-year development process, the project represents what can be achieved in real estate development through perseverance, creative thinking, public-private partnership, and resilience. CC&T Real Estate Services assembled the property, which consisted of five parcels owned by 70 individual property owners. The phased project, completed in 2015, brought a Class A apartment complex, a dual flag hotel, a parking garage, and several retail and office spaces to the historic peninsula.

 

 

 

Pacific Box & Crate: With a company mission to breathe new life into neighborhoods, the Raven Cliff Company purchased a ten acre site on Charleston’s upper peninsula – an area more commonly known as “the neck.” Completed in 2017, the developers delivered a unique office and commercial space in a mixed-use campus setting, consisting of two, 20,000 SF buildings, which are now fully occupied with tech companies, a brewery, and restaurant incubator. The development has launched a spike in land prices in the surrounding area and has caused more businesses to tap into land north of the sacred peninsula.

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Dr. Terry Farris Retires After 23 Years

Posted on by Amy Herrick

Farris-RetirementDr. Terry Farris was the Founding Director of Clemson’s nationally renowned Master of Real Development Program (2004-2010), a joint initiative between the College of Architecture, Arts & Humanities and the College of Business. The MRED is an interdisciplinary 56-credit, full-time, 12 or 18-month program (based on experience) with courses from MBA/Finance, Law, Planning, Architecture, Construction Science and Real Estate Development. He previously served as the Director of the Master of City and Regional Planning Program for four years prior to founding the MRED program.

Founded in 2004, MRED has admitted 205 students, who graduated from 88 Undergraduate Colleges in 28 States and 6 countries (Brazil, China, India, Iran, Saudi Arabia and S. Korea).  Approximately 28% of our 205 students have Design/Construction related undergraduate degrees, 48% Business/Finance Related, and 24% Social Science/other related degrees.  He is very proud of the 174 supportive alumni employed in 45 metro areas in 26 States and Asia making better community places.  He is also very proud of the approximately 400 planning students in his classes through the years.

At Clemson since 1994, he has taught Market Analysis, Public-Private Partnership, Mixed-Use Development, and RE Technology.  He also taught Development Process, Resort Development, Planning Administration, Housing and Community Development, Roundtable, and Land Use Law.  For seventeen years, Dr. Farris has taken 15-20 graduate students on a 10-day Coastal trip in May touring premier developments from Myrtle Beach through Charleston to Hilton Head Island and Savannah GA.

Prior to joining academia in 1991, Dr. Farris had a 17-year development planning/consulting, homebuilding, and administrative career in St. Louis. He packaged $1.5 billion of public-private partnership projects in forty cities and ten states.  He came into academia primarily to teach, work with the professional community, and perform some applied research—his  main desire was to work with students and see them become successful in their careers.

Dr. Farris has a BA in Urban Geography from St. Louis University (’72), and a Master of Urban Planning (’74) and PhD in Urban Planning (’96) from Michigan State University.

He received the 2006 “Distinguished Planner” Award by the SC American Planning Association. Dr. Farris was appointed by Governor Sanford as an initial member of the new State Advisory Committee on Educational Requirements for Local Government Planning or Zoning Officials or Employees through 2008. He is the Primary Author of the Urban Land Institute’s Growing by Choice or Chance: State Strategies for Quality Growth in South Carolina.  The MRED Program was a Founding Sponsor of the SC ULI District Council, where he served on the founding Executive Committee.

At the 10th Year Anniversary celebration, MRED Alumni established the Dr. J. Terrence Farris Annual Award for an outstanding graduating MRED student who exhibits outstanding scholastic achievement and interest in public-private partnerships.

In his retirement letter, he thanked all of Clemson’s administration, faculty, staff, Advancement Board, and friends.  He especially thanked the professional community, who has worked with our students in so many ways by participating as mentors, tour guides, lecturers, employers, and general advisors. He indicated that developing the MRED program is the proudest achievement of his life.

He stated, “Most importantly, I want to thank the 205 MRED students/alumni who have formed a tremendous foundation for all of us to build upon. I admire and respect all of you greatly and am proud of your achievements to date—you have many years ahead of you to be great Place Makers—not just builders of projects.  The Future is Developing!  I sincerely look forward to following your careers for many years as you develop that great future.  Do it with honor and integrity, as I know you will.  Go Tigers!”

Dr. Farris lives in Clemson’s Patrick Square. He intends on focusing on his research—at his own pace!—and being involved with community service.  Dr. Farris’s father was nationally-known in the field of urban redevelopment for over forty years. Complemented with Dr. Farris’s 17-year professional and 26-year academic career, he will enjoy writing in essence family history about urban renewal and urban futures.

As Faculty Emeritus, he will continue teaching Public-Private Partnership and the SC Coastal Development Tour.

 

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