Master of Science in Real Estate – Real Estate Matters

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UST Team to Compete in the Gerald D. Hines / ULI Student Urban Design Competition

photo source: Minnesota Vikings

The 2013 Hines Competition is underway!

One hundred sixty teams from 70 universities in the United States and Canada are currently developing solutions for a site in Minneapolis’s Downtown East neighborhood, near the site of the new Minnesota Vikings stadium

The ULI/Gerald D. Hines Student Urban Design Competition, now in its 11th year, is an urban design and development challenge for graduate students. The Hines Competition challenges multidisciplinary student teams to devise a comprehensive development program for a real, large-scale site. Teams of five students representing at least three disciplines have two weeks to develop solutions that include drawings, site plans, tables, and market-feasible financial data.

The University of St Thomas team members are  Thomas McElroy, full time MBA student; Thomas Strohm, MSRE student, Michael Richardson, Master of Urban and Regional Planning  student at the University of Minnesota; Amber Hill, Master of Landscape Architecture student at the University of Minnesota; and John Briel, Master of Urban and Regional Planning  student at the University of Minnesota.

This is an ideas competition; there is no expectation that any of the submitted schemes will be applied to the site. The winning team will receive $50,000 and the finalist teams $10,000 each.

The ULI/Gerald D. Hines Student Urban Design Competition is part of the Institute’s ongoing effort to raise interest among young people in creating better communities, improving development patterns, and increasing awareness of the need for multidisciplinary solutions to development and design challenges. This competition is an ideas competition; there is no expectation that any of the submitted schemes will be applied to the site. The winning team will receive $50,000 and the finalist teams $10,000 each. Winners that will advance to the next round of the competition will be announced by the end of February.

February 7, 2013 by
UST Program News

Build Something: Your Career in Real Estate

Everything needs a foundation – even a career in Real Estate. The Master of Science Degree in Real Estate provides you with the skills and credibility you need to differentiate yourself in a competetive industry.

Take the steps to build your career in real estate:

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March 7, 2012 by
Uncategorized, UST Student Profile

Student Profile: Henry Ndawula

HenryPicWhat is your professional experience and education?

I graduated from St. Henry’s High School Masaka (Uganda) in 2005; I then joined the University of St. Thomas Minnesota in spring 2006. I graduated in fall 2010 with majors in Accounting, Entrepreneurship and Real Estate. When I graduated, I never wanted to work in any business sector other than Real Estate. I then joined the Masters in Real Estate program starting fall 2010. Currently I’m in my last year through the program and expecting to graduate fall 2012.

My working experience has been short but exciting. I worked in the Minneapolis campus bookstore for a few years. In the summer of 2008, I had an opportunity to work as an intern student at Premier Banks in Maplewood which was another exciting and adventurous experience for me. In 2009, I was lucky to get my much desired internship in real estate at Shenehon Company Minneapolis which I’m still doing up to now. It has been a great learning experience working with commercial and business appraisers.

Why did you choose the MSRE program at UST?

After my graduation in fall 2010, I was interested in the real estate business, since I had my internship with Shenehon Company and an undergraduate degree in real estate. I wanted to further explore what real estate as a business has to offer me. I came to this decision after talking to a couple of people from the MSRE department, talked to Susie and Dr. Tom Hamilton who really helped me very much in my desire to do the program. Since I had graduated from St. Thomas, I pretty much knew the system and even the professor, so it was not a hard decision to choose this program.

What was your career goal when you entered the program and how has it evolved since?

My career goal was to learn as much as I can from the program and see how I can apply all the knowledge attained into the real life business. This goal has not changed; I’m just eager to get the most I can from the program.

My goal is to start a real estate business in Uganda, dealing in development, property/asset management and investment.

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November 2, 2011 by
Uncategorized, UST Student Profile

Student Profile: Caryn Brooks, Multifamily Housing Professional

What is your educational background and professional experience?

CarynBrooksI graduated from the University of North Carolina with a degree in psychology and began my career in real estate as an Assistant Property Manager at an apartment community in Chapel Hill, NC.  About 8 months later I was promoted to Property Manager of a community in Raleigh and then decided to pursue opportunities with national apartment management companies.  In 2004, I signed on with Oakwood Worldwide and moved to Minneapolis to manage LaSalle Apartments.  A few months into the position, Oakwood announced the sale of its entire portfolio to a REIT, Archstone-Smith.  Archstone sold off its Midwest properties and in 2006, TE Miller Development, a local family-owned apartment management company acquired the property.  TE Miller had recently purchased 3 other properties and was in need of someone with on-site experience to supervise its portfolio of 1,100 units, so I stepped into the role of Regional Property Manager.

Overseeing a variety of different communities was an incredible learning experience.  In 2008, TE Miller began construction on York Place Apartments in Edina, and I was fortunate to be able to work with the owners to fine-tune development proformas and the details of the community from establishing a unit mix and rents to meeting with contractors to select amenities and unit finishes.  My goal with the project was to make decisions that would be cost-effective, sustainable, and allow for the property to be efficiently managed and marketed well into the future, since the owners planned to manage the property long-term.

It’s amazing to be able to watch the whole development process from start to finish and make decisions at each step of the way, knowing those decisions will impact residents’ daily lives for the next 40+ years!

Around this time, I also became very interested in the sustainability of buildings and became a LEED Accredited Professional.  I realized I needed a more solid base of commercial real estate and finance knowledge to continue doing what I loved – development, so I decided to pursue a master’s degree.
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October 6, 2011 by
Uncategorized, UST Student Profile

Student Profile: Erik Schwegler, Commercial Real Estate Lender

Erik SchweglerWhat is your educational background and professional experience?

My undergraduate degree is in accounting from Minnesota State University, Mankato.  After my second year at Mankato, I was looking for summer job and was fortunate to have the opportunity to intern for Northland Financial Company (NorthMarq). Although I had some knowledge of real estate, I had never thought that I would go into real estate as a profession.  After the positive experience with the summer internship I realized I wanted to work in real estate and set my goals along this path.  The following summer I again interned for Northland Financial and upon graduation was hired as a full time credit analyst.  I was promoted to loan producer in 1998. In 2000, I took a loan officer position at Associated Bank and was promoted to Regional Manager of the Real Estate Group in 2003.  In 2006, I was hired as Vice President of Commercial Real Estate for Crown Bank. Currently, my focus is on monitoring the loan portfolio, workouts, restructuring, and new lending.

As I look back over my career to date, I am really fortunate – I’ve had great bosses and clients as mentors who have given me the opportunity to succeed and given me tremendous real world experience.

Why did you choose the MSRE program at UST?

I actually started the MBA program at St. Thomas in 1996 and completed eight classes; however, when I took the job at Associated Bank, lending was very busy and I decided to take a break from school to focus on building the real estate group at Associated.

After being away from the MBA program for about 10 years I was involved in a lengthy lawsuit related to a loan.  This lawsuit affected me in a pretty significant way due to some very unethical actions by the borrowers.  The combination of this lawsuit and the overall real estate market decline motivated me to search for a way to reinvent and revitalize myself.

One day I ran into Mr. Herb Tousley in the downtown skyway and we discussed his new role as Director of the MS-Real Estate program, at that moment I decided I was going to go back to school.  Ironically, the first class I took at UST was the required Ethics class.

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October 4, 2011 by
UST Student Profile

Student Profile: Dan Deckas

deckaspicWith an undergraduate degree in policy, planning, and development from the University of Southern California and now, completing his MSRE degree in just a year and a half, Dan Deckas is well on his way to becoming a commercial real estate expert and obtaining his ideal position in asset management.

What is your educational background and professional experience?

I graduated from Edina High School in 2006 then attended the University of Southern California.  It was too good an opportunity to pass up!  My undergraduate degree is in Policy, Planning, and Development with an emphasis on real estate development.  After graduating from USD in May 2010, I decided to pursue the MSRE at St. Thomas, and I’m currently in my second semester.  I’m taking 4 classes at a time in order to finish the program in three semesters.

Currently, I’m also interning 20 hours per week with Presidium Asset Solutions.  It’s a 3rd party commercial loan servicer and asset management firm.  We are looking to buy participations right now, so I conduct the financial analysis, trying to determine how much we can offer.  If the banks are pessimistic about the future of an asset, we look at buying the loans at a discount.  If banks need the cash, we make an offer to them.  I figure in the carry costs, assuming a best case and worst case scenario, either sale proceeds or collecting from the guarantor.  In addition to working with spreadsheets to analyze capital stack and returns, part of my job entails talking to lawyers, brokers, and other key players.

Why did you choose the MSRE program at UST?

I chose St. Thomas because it’s a good school and is the only school in Minnesota with a Master’s in Real Estate.  The facilities are second to none.  There’s also a very strong St. Thomas network around the Twin Cities.

My undergraduate degree didn’t provide enough of a quantitative background, which is what I need in order to excel in the industry, so I decided to enroll.  It proved to be a great decision because I got an internship right away through the school.  Susie Eckstein, the program advisor, told me about the opportunity when we were discussing my career path.

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September 25, 2011 by
UST Program News

Welcome new MSRE students

This fall the University of St. Thomas welcomes eight new Master of Science in Real Estate students to the program.  Congratulations on taking the next step in your real estate career!students

Jason Anderson
Marc Basara
Thomas Campbell
Catherine Davies
James Garry
Mohammed Ismail
Suzanne Marshall
Melissa Mueller

The new students represent a variety of specialties in real estate including brokerage, construction management, property management, development, acquisitions, and lending.  Welcome to the program and good luck with your first semester!

September 9, 2011 by
Development, Real Estate Trends, Residential Real Estate, Uncategorized

Novice at development, young entrepreneur could earn wings with first project

Developer Annalisa Cariveau is a student in the Master of Science in Real Estate program and will be graduating next spring.

by Sam Black

Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journalcariveau

Entrepreneur Annalisa Cariveau’s quest to become a real estate developer may finally take off this year.

Cariveau, 26, has proposed a fly-in residential housing development near Bayfield, Wis., on 380 acres owned by CFS, her family’s business.

The project, which she’s naming Waypoint, includes a 4,000-foot private runway, about 100 single-family homes and, eventually, a small farmers’ market store or cafe. About half the acreage would be set aside for open space and wetlands.

It is a big project for a young developer’s first effort, but the fact that she tried it at all,
and has stuck with it through zoning fights and market hurdles, has helped her gain the notice
of Twin Cities real estate pros.

“She’s the most talented young real estate person I have ever met and I have gone out of the way
to tell several people they should hire her,” said Tom Lund, vice president of real estate
development at Opus Development Corp.

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September 8, 2011 by
Uncategorized, UST Program News

Graduate Real Estate Courses Begin Next Week

A chill is in the air and booksMSRE students are getting ready to head back to class next Wednesday, September 7th.  Kicking off the semester will be a dinner and networking event for all MSRE students on Tuesday, September 6th.  Here is a sneak peek at some of the courses offered this semester.

Investment Property Analysis

Instructor: Dr. Tom Hamilton, CRE, FRICS, CVS

In this course, we will discuss investing in income producing real estate. This will include both direct ownership and indirect ownership. Direct ownership of property will focus on the investment decisions faced by investors including how to develop expectations of potential future performance as well as how to analyze when and how to sell the property. This will include whole ownership and partial interests in the property. Partial interest ownership will look at how we can create undivided interests in property and own those partial interests as real estate as opposed to owning claims on the real estate (indirect ownership through equity positions such as shares in a REIT). We will also look at indirect ownership, how to value such interests and to see how they compare to similar direct ownership interests.

We will also look at the development process as an investment strategy. Development can be from scratch or it can be a retrofitting/transforming process. Highest and best use will be our primary decision tool for this determination. Lastly, we will be looking into various financing vehicles and the effects that leverage can bring to the investment decision—including the risks associated with leverage, such as cash flow shortfalls and bankruptcy.

To gain a better understanding of these investment concepts, students will work hands-on with Argus software to model various financial scenarios.

Dr. Hamilton will also be teaching an undergraduate appraisal class this fall, in which students will conduct an appraisal of a commercial parcel located on University Avenue in St. Paul along the Central Corridor LRT line and make recommendations for the highest and best use for the site.

Real Estate Development

Instructor: Dr. Tom Musil

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August 30, 2011 by
Uncategorized, UST Student Profile

Student Profile: Dustin Sayre, Project Development Specialist

DustinA specialist in the development of senior housing communities with Senior Housing Partners, a division of Presbyterian Homes, Dustin is on his way to completing the MSRE degree this December and continuing to excel in the development business.

What is your education and professional experience?

After I graduated from Northwestern College, I began a housing development internship at Presbyterian Homes.  During the one year internship, I was able to shadow the development process, which was very helpful since I didn’t have prior experience in real estate except for working as part of a construction crew.  Assisting with tasks like coordinating neighborhood meetings really gave me an understanding of the many facets of building a new community.  Once I completed the internship, Presbyterian Homes hired me on full-time and I have been working there for five years now.

Presbyterian Homes is the 5th largest senior housing developer in the US and the second fastest growing; we currently have five projects in process and another three launching within the next month.  Pres Homes really focuses on quality of life issues for seniors.  For example, studies have indicated that seniors who exercise are less likely to experience problems with balance which can contribute to falls; falls are the number one health risk to seniors.  With this information in mind, Pres Homes began a Wellness Centers initiative with its 34 communities.  I managed the design and construction process for the Wellness Center projects, which entailed visiting 28 communities and determining where we could build out new fitness centers.  A lot of my time went into two major additions at Farmstead in Andover and Mississippi Shores in Monticello; the wellness centers turned out great and it feels good to know that our work helps to keep seniors safe and healthy.

Why did you choose the MSRE program at St. Thomas?

In my current role, I work with senior development project managers who are in the prime of their career.

I realized there is a knowledge gap between my senior colleagues and myself, I wanted to fill that gap as quickly as possible.

First, I obtained a minor in construction management at the University of Minnesota, then I saw the St. Thomas MSRE program, and it really emphasized the areas I wanted and needed to learn to advance my career.  Since my undergraduate degree is in business, I desired to become more specialized in real estate.

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August 23, 2011 by