Four teams of second-year students competed for the Alexander Bodini Foundation Prizes in the Project Class in Real Estate Investment and Entrepreneurship Business Plan Competition 2012, held on Monday, April 30. In an unusual outcome, two of the teams tied for first place due to the high quality of their presentations. 

The winning projects, each awarded $4,000, were “Latin America Real Estate Investment Opportunities” by Felipe Correa ’12, Jacob Linetsky ’12, Philippe Monlin MS RED ’12, and Fernando Olloqui ’12, with executive sponsor Metropolitan Real Estate Equity Management; and “Veridea Development Site” by Matthew Choi MS RED ’12, Robert Hughes ’12, Matthew Micksin ’12, and Michael Murnane ’12 with executive sponsor Hudson Realty Capital.

Third place ($1,000) went to the project “Evaluation of Returns and Exits for the Interstate Hotels & Resorts Investment” by Tripty Arya ’12, Feng Jiang ’12, and Eduardo Sanchez ’12 with executive sponsor Thayer Lodging Group. Jason Chiang ’12, Alexander Pugatch ’12, and Michael Thorsen MS RED ’12 won an honorable mention for their “Silverpeak Real Estate Partners / Witkoff Group Development Project” with executive sponsors Silverpeak Real Estate Partners / Witkoff Group; team members received copies of New York 2000: Architecture and Urbanism Between the Bicentennial and the Millennium by Robert A.M. Stern, David Fishman, and Jacob Tilove.

Associate Adjunct Professor Andrew Jacobs ’96, the 2012 Project Class instructor, kicked off the evening with a warm welcome to the students, professors, project sponsors, Real Estate Circle members, and other real estate executives in the packed lecture hall. Each team then gave a 20-minute presentation, after which they fielded questions from the distinguished panel of judges: Mark Lanspa ’90, Executive Vice President of the Hospitality Finance Group of Wells Fargo Bank; Nancy Lashine ’81, Managing Partner and Founder of Park Madison Partners; Joseph Smith ’99, Founding Partner of Glenmont Capital Management; and Robert Stern ’88, Founder and Managing Partner of Castle Hill Investors. The presentations were followed by dinner and an awards ceremony.

This year marked the thirteenth anniversary of the competition, a signature offering of the Paul Milstein Center for Real Estate. Established in 1999 with a generous gift from the Seevak Family Foundation, the competition was conceived to encourage students working in groups to take the kernel of an idea and develop it into a comprehensive business plan. For the fifth consecutive year, the competition was intertwined with the Project Class in Real Estate Entrepreneurship and Investment in which students work on group projects with industry sponsors. The 2012 competition and dinner were graciously supported by the Alexander Bodini Foundation and Daniele D. Bodini ’72.

After dinner at the awards ceremony, Professor Jacobs praised the four teams for their hard work and thanked Daniele Bodini and the judges. Mr. Bodini then awarded the Alexander Bodini Foundation Prizes to the top three teams. Professor Lynne B. Sagalyn, the Earle W. Kazis and Benjamin Schore Professor of Real Estate and Director of the Paul Milstein Center for Real Estate, concluded the evening with some heartfelt remarks to her students, both past and present.

First Place (tie; $4,000 to each team)

TeamMembers Matthew Choi MS RED ’12, Robert Hughes ’12, Matthew Micksin ’12, Michael Murnane ’12

Project Veridea Development Site

Executive Sponsor

Hudson Realty Capital

Brief Description

Hudson Realty Capital’s Fund IV along with a local operating partner now controls approximately 1100 acres of land in Apex, NC. The greenfield site is currently entitled for the development of 10,000,000 SF of commercial, 8,000 residential units and 3,500,000 SF of retail. The site is in the Research Triangle region, near Raleigh, Durham, and Chapel Hill. A strategy to develop the land has not yet been established. Columbia students are analyzing the site to determine its highest and best use, phasing, and market drivers in order to bring the most value to the fund.

Team Members Michael Murnane ’12, Robert Hughes ’12, Matthew Choi MS RED ’12, Matthew Micksin ’12; Associate Adjunct Professor Andrew Jacobs ’96, the 2012 Project Class instructor; Daniele D. Bodini ’72 (supporter of the 2012 event).

Team Members Felipe Correa ’12, Jacob Linetsky ’12, Philippe Monlin MS RED ’12, Fernando Olloqui ’12

Project Latin America Real Estate Investment Opportunities

Executive Sponsor

Metropolitan Real Estate Equity Management

Brief Description

Metropolitan is seeking to expand its investment program in emerging markets, specifically Latin America. We have US $50 million to allocate to a portfolio diversified by geography, property type, strategy and manager. We ultimately intend to invest with managers who have a superior performance track record and who create value at the property level or through opportunistic acquisition, rather than financial engineering. The investment objective of the Partnership is to achieve net internal rates of return in the low to mid-teens, while also focusing on preservation of capital.

Team members Fernando Olloqui ’12, Jacob Linetsky ’12, Philippe Monlin MS RED ’12, Felipe Correa ’12 along with Jacobs and Bodini.Third Place ($1,000)

Team Members Tripty Arya ’12, Feng Jiang ’12, Eduardo Sanchez ’12

Project Evaluation of Returns and Exits for the IHR Investment

Executive Sponsor

Thayer Lodging Group

Brief Description

Thayer Lodging Group (“Thayer”) acquired Interstate Hotels & Resorts, Inc. (“IHR”) in March 2010 through a 50/50 joint venture with Shanghai Jin Jiang Hotel Group Ltd (“Jin Jiang”). IHR owns substantial hotel real estate assets (6 wholly-owned assets and joint venture interests in 52 other hotels) and operates hotels with 1900 rooms and a diverse portfolio with over 60 ownership groups and operations in 9 countries. Thayer’s investment in IHR was made through its fifth institutional investment fund, Thayer V.

The project involves an analysis of a strategy to maximize the “risk return” for the investment including options for exits, valuation and the appropriate allocation of additional $25 Million in equity for the IHR portfolio. 

Honorable Mention

Team Members Jason Chiang ’12, Alexander Pugatch ’12, Michael Thorsen MS RED ’12

Project Silverpeak Real Estate Partners / Witkoff Group Development Project

Executive Sponsor

Silverpeak Real Estate Partners / Witkoff Group

Brief Description

Silverpeak Real Estate Partners and the Witkoff Group formed a partnership to acquire a development site in the West Village submarket of Manhattan. The partnership is seeking to determine the highest and best use for this site which offers views of the Hudson River. Silverpeak’s investment options should be assessed, including the risk and reward dynamics of each scenario while taking into account macroeconomic factors, as well as local economic conditions.

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