Glorypark used as example by NAIOP Team

The UTA NAIOP competition team uses the Glorypark development in preparation for competition (starting today).  Team member Rudy Lopez wrote a brief summary of the project based on Mr. Steiner's presentation during the COBA Business Week.  I thought Rudy's summary was very good and I asked him if I could post in on our blog.  Thanks Rudy and good luck NAIOP Team!

...I can, however, comment briefly on the most current mixed-use development project in Arlington, Glorypark by Steiner + Associates.  This was presented by the firm a few weeks ago at UTA and I had the fortunate opportunity to attend.

Glorypark is a $600 million development in partnership with Hicks Holdings (founded by Tom Hicks-owner of Texas Rangers and Dallas Stars).  It is located at the Ballpark and is a mix of retail, entertainment, residential, office and hospitality uses.  The first phase is scheduled to open Fall 2009, while the second is proposed for 2010.  Glorpark is described as the "soul and heart of a new city" and emphasizes its location halfway between Dallas and Fort Worth as one the marketing pitches.  Additional attributes and facts from the website http://www.glorypark.com/our_vision.htm  and presentation program are as follows:

_ household incomes between 50-150K live within a 15-minute drive
_1 million+ people currently live within 10 miles of Arlington
_6.5+ million visitors travel to Glorypark location each year for Ranger games and other attractions
_UTA(approx. 25,000 students) is located less than 2 miles from this location
_full buildout development = 5 million sf
_retail, dining, entertainment = 1.5 million sf
_office = 1 million sf
_health club and recreation = 100,000 sf
_residential = 2000 units
_3 major hotels

Mr. Steiner (CEO Steiner + Associates, Inc.) describes Glorypark as a significant economic addition to Arlington that has the potential to change the metroplex and marketplace.  In addition, he suggests transportation a key component of the design; others include a central outdoor space and greenscapes.  

Aside from economical benefits Glorypark brings to Arlington, from an architectural standpoint the development does not appear to make any connection to the historic Downtown Arlington; it may become Arlington's new downtown.  Also, as transportation a key component, it doesn't appear that alternative modes of transportation (bike, train, light rail) are offered as part of design.  In addition, Mr. Steiner mentions a "sustainable environment," but I'm exactly clear how that is portrayed in the development.  

As mentioned above, these are just a few thoughts to consider should the NAIOP case be a mix-used development.  Perhaps issues of connectivity (physical and historical) and sustainable/ecological designs may be considered as starting points for the case.

David Karr JOB CHANGE

Hey there....not that anyone besides those on the NAIOP team actually cares, but I've moved over to Hines Interests from Hillwood.

The move was good for me personally and professionally, and I'm excited about the new opportunity.

As for the NAIOP team, I can be reached at david_karr@hines.com or by cell at 972-533-8702. Hope everyone had a good Spring Break, and you all better enjoy them while you can, because, well, you know why.

So....let's get to work!

CREW Scholarship

CREW (Commercial Real Estate Women) Network is offering ten $10,000 scholarships to female students enrolled in their junior or senior year of study and interested in pursuing a career in commercial real estate. This scholarship program is designed to promote interest in an extraordinary career which values and rewards talent.

CREW Network (www.crewnetwork.org) is an international business network with chapters in 66 markets throughout North America dedicated to promoting the success of women in all disciplines of commercial real estate.

As a catalyst for change, we seek opportunities to make a real difference by conducting sound research that analyzes, evaluates and impacts both the way we do business and the culture in which we work; developing professional skills to address the changing needs of the industry; and identifying new talent to bring fresh perspectives to the table.

The CREW Network Scholarship will be awarded based on academic excellence and is intended to help finance the educational endeavors of female undergraduate students enrolled in accredited real estate programs. As part of the scholarship package, each recipient will receive a paid internship at a commercial brokerage firm.

Scholarship Value:
CREW Network will award up to ten $10,000 scholarships annually to junior or senior level undergraduate female students to cover the costs of tuition and books.

Eligibility Requirements:
The ideal candidate will be a female enrolled as a full-time student at a college or university with an accredited real estate program. Applications will also be considered if the applicant is a female enrolled as a full-time student at an accredited college or university that does not have an accredited real estate program, but where the applicant is enrolled in business, finance, architecture, engineering, or other related field of study where it is the applicant’s intent to pursue a career in commercial real estate.

• The applicant must be of junior or senior standing
• The applicant must have maintained a minimum 3.0 GPA on a 4.0 scale

More detailed information about the scholarship requirements can be found at www.crewcareerzone.org.

Please forward this scholarship information to any of your colleagues and associates who might know of deserving and qualified applicants. We will be accepting applications until Friday, May 23 and announcing the CREW Network Scholars in June 2008.

Thank you for helping us to move this work forward and promote the education and advancement of women.

Sincerely,

Gail S. Ayers, PhD
CREW Network CEO
CREW Foundation President

Bar Might Go Up (a little)

Final approvals are pending, but the Master of Science in Real Estate (MSRE) admission standards might become a little more difficult in the future. The UTA Graduate School uses, among many other factors, a metric called the "Index Score" as an initial admission criteria. The Index Score is calculated as follows: [200 x GPA] + GMAT SCORE. Currently, the benchmark Index Score for the MSRE is 1080. If the new Graduate Catalog is approved, the Index Score will go up modestly to 1120.

Although this is a bit more challenging for future applicants, current students and alumni should be interested in this change. Two big contributing factors to the value of your graduate degree includes the program admission standards and, once accepted, program rigor. This Index Score increase directly addresses the former.

Again, this is a modest increase. The MSRE admission standards are still below several other COBA programs such as the Master of Science in Quantitative Finance (MSQF) and the Master of Science in Marketing Research (MSMR).

Note: Remember the GPA is calculated by the Graduate School based on your last 60 credit hours (roughly your Junior/Senior year for manny applicants).

ULI North Texas - YLG: First Annual Dallas Awareness Event

- Location -

Victory Marketing Center
Formerly Called Discovery Center at the AAC
3090 Olive St., Suite 300
Dallas, TX   75219

Information Page:
http://www.uli.org/events/index.cfm?id=3466

Registration Page:
http://www.uli.org/register/index.cfm?id=3466

NAIOP Team Set

The UTA team for the NAIOP Texas Shoot Out has been finalized. The team consists of Cathy Thuan, Lauren Morgan, Mavis Saur, Rudy Lopez, Scott Edwards, and Ferrando Zamarripa. The competition starts on Thursday, March 27th and their development presentation will take place on Thursday, April 3rd at the Dallas Country Club. Wish them luck!

Job Opportunity at Collegiate Development

Position Title: Director of Market Research Department: Development
Employee Classification: Full time, exempt Location: Irving, TX
Date: November 8, 2007
Note: Statements included in this description are intended to reflect in general the duties and responsibilities of this classification and are not to be interpreted as being all inclusive.
Relationships:
Reports to: Director of Development
Subordinate Staff:
Summary Description

Responsibilities:
· Conduct in depth real estate, university and related apartment market analysis
· Provide aerials and maps for proposed sites
· Meet with university officials to discuss housing options-both on and off-campus
· Use research results to contribute to design, unit, and amenity mix of student housing developments
· Report research results and analysis to internal investment committee as well as outside investors and other capital providers
· Coordinate third party market research studies when required by financing partners
· Attend student housing conferences dealing with demographics and trends
· Create and administer surveys, PowerPoint presentations, and lead focus groups
· Utilize demographic research to assist property management in marketing and leasing strategies
· Provide periodic competitive market analysis
· Build and maintain market research libraries and databases
Special market research projects as new business opportunities arise

Skills and Attributes:
· Excel power user with expert-level spreadsheet modeling skills
· Strong Argus cash flow modeling capabilities
· Advanced automation/application development abilities with Visual Basic for Applications (VBA)
· Database design, development, programming, and management experience with Access, SQL, and Visual Basic
· Expertise with Word and PowerPoint for report and presentation development
· Highly proficient with statistical packages such as SPSS, SAS, and STATISTICA
· Heavy user of subscription-based market research and trade/analytic information tools such as REIS, Bloomberg, Trepp, Intex, MPF reports and others
· User of geographic information system software (ArcGis, MapInfo)
· Ability to comprehend, interpret and communicate market data
· Organized, detail-oriented, able to multi-task
· Ability to perform duties and complete tasks with minimal supervision
Ability to work in a team environment across departments

Education and Experience:
· Bachelors degree required
· Preferred majors include economics, geography, urban studies, business, real estate, or sociology (all majors considered based on relevant experience)
3-5 years experience in research of student housing or similar industry

Contact:
Matthew Knowles Vice President-Asset Management
Collegiate Management Group, LP909
Lake Carolyn Parkway, Suite 1600
Irving, Texas 75039972-759-1616 direct · 817-319-5564
http://www.collegiate-dev.com/

Business Week Comes to a Close

David Karr, Senior Project Manager with Hillwood, concluded UTA's Business Week this morning with a presentation addressing 8 Things You Should Know Before Developing. David did an excellent job.

I would also like to thank Greg Bennet, Director of Research for Swearingen, and Jeremy Normand, of Jeremy Normand State Farm Insurance, for their contributions to Business Week. Greg did an great job opening Business Week on Monday and Jeremy visited campus twice mid-week and was fantastic as usual. All these presentations were amazing and complimented this years Glorypark development theme.

Internship Opportunity

Are you lacking the much need experience to get your foot in the door at a development company? If so, the company I work for, Falcon Companies, is in need of a paid intern for the development arm of the company called Falcon Construction Advisors. We are looking for an intern who can work a minimum of 20 hours a week and can assist in the important early coordination stages of a development project. You can go to our website from more information about Falcon Companies (www.falconcompanies.com).

If you are interested, or would like more information on this great opportunity please let me know by sending me your resume or additional questions.

Michael Herrera

mherrera@falconcompanies.com

From the grapevine...

This is all the information I have, but if you are looking, maybe you can find more information on the company's website. If anyone does find additional details, please feel free to share the info by commenting to this post.

Highland Capital Management, L.P. (Plano) has several postings including a position for a Settlement Associate, CMBS/ABS Senior Analyst, and Real Estate Senior Analyst.

Westport One - MRI Network (Houston) is looking for a Commercial Lender.

Out-of-state, we have the following:
Stone Murphy (Minneaplis) is hiring an Commercial Real Estate Invetment Analyst.

TIAA-CREF (New York, NY) is taking on an Associate, FI Commercial Mortgage Investments. Bachelor's degree in finance/real estate and 1 to 2 years of commercial mortgage lending, appraisal, or related exprience.

Robert Ola Graduates from Texas Tech with Law Degree!!

Bob Ola, a member of this blog,  attended UTA as an undergraduate student and volunteered as an officer in the Student Society of Real Estate.  Bob recently graduated from Texas Tech with a JD and his story is inspiring.

At a very young age, Bob started a landscaping business that grew quickly and became very successful.  Funded by his own business, Bob put himself through UTA and even had enough cash flow to invest in real estate.  His senior year, he sold his landscaping business and applied to law school.  I would say the rest is history, but Bob is in his mid-twenties.

Congratulations Bob!  And, anyone that knows you from UTA will agree that this won't be the last congratulatory blog post.  Keep up the good work and we look forward to your next venture!

Business (could say Real Estate) Week - Glorypark is this year's theme

From UTA Today: Noted developer to discuss Glorypark impacts

One of the titans of New Urbanism and the developer of Glorypark will be the keynote speaker for Business Week, an annual event The University of Texas at Arlington College of Business Administration (CoBA) sponsors. This year, CoBA is partnering with the Arlington Chamber of Commerce to produce Business Week. Yaromir Steiner – who is heading up Glorypark, Arlington’s mix of retail, entertainment, residential, office and hospitality uses – will speak at 11:45 a.m. Tuesday, March 11, in the Bluebonnet Ballroom of the E.H. Hereford University Center, 300 W. First St.  The media is invited to cover the speech. Contact Tracy Hall at (817) 543-4298 or e-mail thall@arlingtontx.com for registration or sponsorship information. 

Steiner is chief executive officer of Steiner + Associates, a Columbus, Ohio-based development, leasing and property management company. Business week – March 10-14 – will highlight the impacts Glorypark will have on Arlington and Tarrant County. Glorypark is a partnership between Steiner + Associates and Hicks Holdings, a company founded by Tom Hicks, owner of the Texas Rangers and Dallas Stars. 

Situated between Rangers Ballpark in Arlington and the new Cowboys stadium, the first phase of Glorypark is scheduled to open in fall 2009 and is expected to top 2 million feet in new construction. This year’s forum will provide a platform for gathering data to create a case study on the economic, business, and civic impacts of Glorypark Town Center on the City of Arlington and Tarrant County. Speakers throughout the week present topics on real issues facing today’s businesses and industries. 

By bringing these speakers to campus, the college creates an opportunity to go beyond the theoretical to the actual. Go to the CoBA Web site for more information about the speakers throughout the week.

Business Week Updates and Additions

Please note that there have been a couple updates and corrections to the list of Business Week Speaker blog post (see the post below on the blog at realestateprogram.blogspot.com). Thanks!

Business Week (and beyond) Schedule

Current students and alumni, look at all the great speakers in the area of real estate lined-up this year. You are invited...

Monday, March 10
8:00—8:50 A.M.
Greg Bennett
Director of Research
Swearingen Realty Group
CoBA Rm. 241

7:00—8:20 P.M.
Dr. Elizabeth Horn
Vice President
Decision Analyst, Inc.
CoBA Rm. 141

David Campbell
Senior Vice President
American Eagle
CoBA Rm. 254

Tuesday, March 11
9:30—10:50 A.M.
Barry Rosenberg
Development Director
Steiner + Associates, Inc.
CoBA Rm. 245

Rick Ericson
Sr. Communications Director
The LeMaster Group, Ltd.
CoBA Rm. 256

11:00-12:20 PM
Jeremy Normand
Owner
Jeremy Normand State Farm Insurance
COBA Rm. 241

Wednesday, March 12
8:00—8:50 A.M.
Jeremy Normand
Owner
Jeremy Normand State Farm Insurance
CoBA Rm. 241

7:00—8:20 P.M.
Kaid Carpenter
Sr. Director of Ops Services, Chili’s Brand
Brinker International
CoBA Rm. 254

Thursday, March 13
9:30—10:50 A.M.
W. Jeff Williams
President
Graham Associates, Inc.
CoBA Rm. 147

Jeff Gunning
Vice President
RTKL Associates, Inc.
CoBA Rm. 142

11:00 A.M.—12:20 P.M.
Brad Alberts
Executive Vice President
Hicks Sports Marketing Group
CoBA Rm. 245E

James S. Sabonis
Senior Vice President
First Southwest Company
CoBA Rm. 245

Dwight "Ike" Shupe
Partner
K&L Gates
CoBA Rm. 241

7:00—8:20 P.M.
Trey Yelverton
Deputy City Manager for Economic Development
City of Arlington
CoBA 245W

Friday, March 14
8:00—8:50 A.M.
David Karr
Sr. Development Manager
Hillwood Properties
CoBA Rm. 241

Thursday, March 27
8:00-9:20 AM
Marcus Raven
Director
Arlington Chamber of Commerce
COBA, Rm. 152

Thursday, April 3
7:00—8:20 P.M.
Bill Wheat
CFO; and
Stacey Dwyer
Treasurer D.R. Horton
CoBA Rm. 241

Tuesday, April 8
7:00—8:20 P.M.
Mojy Haddad
President
CHS Architects, Inc.
CoBA Rm. 150

Tuesday, April 15
7:00—8:20 P.M.
Steve Wall
CEO
Wall Homes, Inc.
CoBA Rm. 150

Fidelity Investments Job Open House

Fidelity Investments is hosting a Networking Mixer for students on Wednesday, March 19th and want to invite UTA’s business students to attend. The information below spells out the details and allows students (does not specify if they are looking for undergraduate, graduate, or both) to attend via an RSVP mailbox. The Open House falls during spring break however Fidelity is hopeful that there will be plenty of students staying in town that week who may be searching for a career opportunity. Both the Personal & Workplace Investing business and the Pricing & Cash Management Services business want to hire UTA May graduates.

Have you recently graduated, or will you be graduating in 2008?
Join Fidelity Investments for a networking mixer on March 19. Come meet our talented employees and managers and learn about our Personal Workplace & Investing and Pricing & Cash Management Services businesses in the southwest region.
Our beautiful Westlake campus is not to be missed!

Location: One Destiny Way, Westlake, TX
Time: 5:30 pm – 7:30 pm
Come dressed professionally and bring a resume to share.
► Reserve your spot today. Email WestlakeOpenHouse@FMR.com by March 15th