A team of seven University of St. Thomas real estate students placed second in the 13th annual University Challenge Real Estate Competition sponsored by the Minnesota chapter of the National Association for Industrial and Office Parks.
A rendering of the St. Thomas students’ conceptual plan for the 12-acre site in Edina.
The students, all seniors majoring in real estate, created a conceptual plan for a 12-acre parcel of land – once called Pentagon Park but last year renamed the Link – located in Edina at the intersection of Highway 100 and Interstate 494.
The St. Thomas team was competing with five other universities who all submitted a development plan for the site. The students submitted a written plan and also made a presentation to a panel of industry professionals. The plans were judged on suitability for the site, financial feasibility, completeness of the report and quality of the presentation.
The students are Jackson Becker, Joe DeSplinter, Alec Gooley, Nathan Howard, Connor McCarthy, Cally Samson and Brad Torell. They prepared their plan as part of a real estate development class taught by Nino Pedrelli.
Marquette University won the competition for the third year in a row. Second-place St. Thomas beat teams from St. Cloud State University, the University of Wisconsin Madison, the University of Minnesota and the University of Northern Iowa.
