Past Issues • 2009 • 2008 • 2007 • 2006 • 2005 • 2004 • 2003 • 2002 • 2001 • 2000

Student News

University Of Pennsylvania Team - Finalist In ULI Urban Design Competition

The student ideas competition was announced last fall. It was made available to graduate students who are pursuing real estate-related studies at a North American university, including programs in real estate development, urban planning, urban design, architecture and landscape architecture. Through the competition, interdisciplinary teams of students were challenged to offer solutions for the redesign and revitalization of the South Capitol Street site. A $50,000 prize will be awarded to the winning team; and an additional $50,000 will be split among the remaining finalist teams.

The groups are focusing on a 16-block, 70-acre area encompassing the South Capitol and M Street intersection and the Navy Yard Metrorail station. The area includes a neighborhood of low-density subsidized and market-rate residential units, light industrial facilities, and small commercial buildings, all cut off from each other by the busy South Capitol Street corridor and cut off from surrounding neighborhoods by the elevated Southeast Freeway. Each team submitted a scheme for reviving the area and reconnecting it to the greater community. The University of Pennsylvania’s Graduate School of Fine Arts scheme is the "X Concept," a reinterpretation of L’Enfant’s juxtaposition of diagonals over an urban grid. An X-shaped intersection marks M and South Capitol streets, which would form a landscaped park that reintegrates the neighborhoods of the quadrants of the study area. Development along the four axes emanating from this center would catalyze revitalization evenly across the entire South Capitol Street community.

"With so much history and culture in the city, we wanted the Southeast to be an extension of that and not further separated and segregated," said Penn team member Richard J. Moh. "Our main proposal is to prosper this area, to continue the city’s unique diagonal development pattern, and make the site an entrance gateway to Washington. We wanted to offer a realistic solution that not only would bring new residents and business, but would improve the lives of the people who live there now."

Finalist teams were chosen by a jury of renowned real estate development, architecture, urban planning and design experts: "We were impressed by the creativity and careful thought these students put into their entries," jury chairman Robert C. Larson, said. "Clearly, they took this competition seriously, and came up with some ideas for revitalization that are both imaginative and realistic. The teams that made it to the final round submitted truly exceptional proposals that were very responsive to the competition guidelines."

In the final phase of the competition, from March 21 to April 24, 2003, the student finalist teams will have the opportunity to expand their original schemes and respond in more detail. During this time, two members of each team will be brought to Washington, with expenses paid, and they will have the opportunity to tour the site and revise their presentations.

On April 25, finalist team members will present their programs to the competition jury members during a forum in Washington, which will also be attended by other students and guests from the public and private sector. The forum will culminate with the announcement of the winning team and the order of the finalists.

Real Estate Industry Aims to Attract More Women

Erica Siegel didn't grow up dreaming about working in commercial real estate. Her interest was piqued by a neighbor in the industry who's now chairman of a big real estate investment trust. "I wasn't exposed to any outreach efforts," said Siegel, who studied history and public administration at Cornell University and is now a second-year MBA student at the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School. "Part of my motivation for going to business school was to get into the industry."

	Wharton MBA student Bethany Schwartz with Mentor Michael J. Leahy at the Zell/Lurie 2002 Fall Members’ Meeting

Similarly, Bethany Schwartz, also a Wharton MBA student, was drawn to the field a few years ago when she spent time with a friend who developed small properties. Unlike other male-dominated career treks like banking and consulting that place a clearer emphasis on recruiting women, commercial real estate isn't widely regarded as being proactive in attracting more females to its ranks. But that may be changing, according to some industry experts.

Nationwide, a slew of large brokerages have stepped up efforts to recruit women. Los Angeles-based CB Richard Ellis, for example, established a women's network and advisory board to boost retention and provide a forum for mentoring. Julien J. Studley Inc., based in New York, is actively trying to recruit women, according to Hether Smith, senior vice president and branch manager of the firm's Philadelphia office. Buoying these corporate campaigns is the growing prominence of organizations like CREW (Commercial Real Estate Women) and WIRE (Women in Real Estate), which have begun grassroots campaigns of their own to promote the industry among working women and students with some interest in the profession. Philadelphia's CREW chapter, with about 135 members, has embarked on a mission to diversify its membership by targeting people in nontraditional jobs, like those working in institutional real estate, said board member Karen Zinn, who is director of portfolio management, facilities and real estate services for the University of Pennsylvania. Linda Hollemon, chief executive officer of the national CREW network, said several chapters - including those in Atlanta and Boston - are developing joint programs with universities to award scholarships to female students studying real estate. "We could be even more proactive in more of the real estate programs in the business schools by making students more aware of opportunities in the industry," said Hollemon. She added that CREW, which boasts about 5,000 members nationwide, is moving in the direction of offering student memberships. And, she suggested it would "be nice to see more women faculty members."

Some industry experts suggest different approaches to boost the numbers, like bringing less-experienced women on board at commercial real estate firms as researchers and junior brokers and encouraging them to stay on and move up the ranks, or wooing senior-level women from related fields, like real estate law. And others, including Smith of Julien J. Studley, suggest using the entrepreneurial nature of the industry as a recruitment tool. Employment studies have shown that careers with entrepreneurial aspects are especially appealing to women. "Real estate is the type of thing where, if you have a BlackBerry or a laptop, you don't have to be in the office," said Smith. Of course, "you have to be a really good broker for it to work. It's a privilege you have to earn." Locally, three out of 16 brokers at Studley are female, Smith said. Women make up about 20 percent of Studley's work force across the country. There and at other firms, the numbers are rising. Proponents of the outreach effort say that's partially attributable to the new presence of active recruitment.

There's another reason for the rising numbers. Increasingly, commercial real estate firms are recognizing that their customer base is diversifying, industry sources say. More women are heading companies that look to brokerages for their services. In an effort to reflect the changing demographics, firms are beefing up their recruiting programs. Business schools also are playing a more active role than before. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Center for Real Estate in Cambridge, Mass., is partnering with NEWIRE (New England Women in Real Estate, which is part of the CREW network) on education initiatives, Hollemon said.

Closer to home, Wharton has a mentorship program that matches students with senior executives in the industry, said Asuka Nakahara, associate director of the school's Zell/Lurie Real Estate Center.

In November, the center, the Wharton MBA Real Estate Club and the Wharton Women in Business Club organized a panel discussion titled "Opportunities for Women in Real Estate." The panel featured several women leaders in the industry, including Karen B. Dorigan, chief investment officer of CarrAmerica Realty Corp., and Leslie W. Himmel, managing partner of Himmel+Meringoff Properties Inc. They spoke to about 50 students on topics like how to increase the interest of female students in real estate careers, and how professionals can be role models and more effectively guide students. "This was the first year we held the event," said Schwartz, the MBA student who, along with Siegel, was a key organizer of the program. "We hope it will continue next year, and [we] will be working with the leadership of next year's real estate club to continue the tradition. The women who spoke were extremely impressive and inspirational. Their enthusiasm for real estate was tangible."

Even with more outreach by companies and schools, certain steadfast rules about landing a job in real estate will always apply, according to Karen Daly, executive managing director in the Philadelphia office of Insignia/ESG. "Recruitment is 99 percent networking in this industry," she said.

• Send this article
• Return to index of articles