Some SIOR Event attendees left to right: Chase Gaiefsky (MSRED Adjunct Faculty, Team Mentor); Evans Gedeon (MSRED Advisory Board); Chris Walker; Rishi Anand; Claudia Kohn; Gabrimar Riveros; Dr. Thomas Wuerzer (MSRED Faculty and SIOR Professor of the Year); Jason Morjain (owner of the competition property, Dragonfly Investment); Zach Skywalker Parnas; Cristian Acero (Team Mentor); Angelo Cappuso; Matt Adams; Leland Smith; and Steven Guasch (MSRED Advisory Board).
NSU Business students worked on the Port St. Lucie 25-acre master-planned development named Tradition and won $15,000 in scholarships for their creative solutions!
Since 2015, the M.S.R.E.D. program has included the Society of Industrial and Office Realtors (SIOR) Florida Challenge Grant, a team-based competition. Developed from the collaboration of the SIOR Florida Chapter and the Huizenga College of Business and Entrepreneurship, the SIOR Florida Challenge gives students the opportunity to work on live commercial real estate projects and devise cutting-edge solutions for unique complex challenges.
This year students were asked to “Be the developer” for the Tradition site. They conducted extensive research and explored ideas and opportunities that support smart development. They presented their development proposals to stakeholders and a panel of distinguished judges including Jessica Abramson (Senior Development Manager, Stiles Corporation), Evans Gedeon (Director of Finance, Codina Partners), Alfonso Costa Jr., J.D. (Executive Vice President, Falcone Group LLC), Ted Konigsberg (President Infinity Commercial Real Estate, President, SIOR Florida Chapter, and Chair, Grants and Scholarships, International SIOR Foundation), and the client, Jason Morjan (Tradition Property Owner and Managing Principal, Dragonfly Investments).
Congratulations to the winning NSU teams:
1st PLACE – TEAM B: Rishi Anand, Angelo Cappuso, Gabrimar Riveros, and Leland Smith. Mentor: Chaise Giaefsky, Land Acquisitions Manager, Lennar
2nd PLACE – TEAM D: Matthew Adams, Bradley Burgeson, Quinesha “Nikki” Hawkins, and Zach Skywalker Parnas. Mentor: Debbie Orshefky, J.D., Shareholder, Greenberg Traurig; and Partner, Holland & Knight
3rd PLACE – TEAM C: Claudia Kohn, Juliet Serabian, Shane J. Reynolds, and Erendira Lopez. Mentor: Cristian Acero, Construction and Development Manager, AutoNation
HONORABLE MENTION – TEAM A: Gerson Vanegas, Chris Walker, William Nausedat, and Victor J. Monzon. Mentor: Andrew Remick, Principal, HRE Capital
To learn more about the Tradition project and the winning proposals, you may watch the event presentation video.
