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Meet Brendan Mason and Korbi Wenzl, MSRE Class of 2017

What happens when you bring a Visiting Graduate student from Germany and a 2nd year MSRE student together for a conversation?

brendan_korbi_deskcrop — Brendan Mason and Korbi Wenzl, 2017 MSRE Candidates

The 2016-2017 school year has just started, and with it comes a group of fresh students with new ideas and career goals. Second year students begin this year with a big milestone in their future: graduation. The Runstad Center offers ample opportunity for networking amongst students and the industry, but this time we decided to invite a first year student and a second year student for a more intimate conversation. Joining us today are Korbinian Wenzl, MSRE Candidates of 2017, and Brendan Mason, MSRE Candidate of 2017.

Korbinian Wenzl is a 1st year MSRE student who is participating in the inaugural exchange program between the Runstad Center and the University of Regensburg in Germany. While this isn’t his first time in the US, he is getting his first dose of American education. After completing his first masters year at the International Real Estate Business School at the University of Regensburg, Korbi has just completed Orientation week and is enjoying his first quarter of the MSRE program.

Brendan Mason is a 2nd year MSRE student and an experienced project manager at Olympic Property Group. He is currently working on Harbor Hill, a 330-acre master planned community in Gig Harbor while simultaneously completing his Masters of Real Estate degree.

Given that tuition is free in Germany, we were especially curious to hear what brought Korbi to Seattle. It turns out he really wanted to get to know our educational system. “In Germany, classes are heavily lecture and exam based. Here, we have more discussions, which I find very interesting.” Says Korbi, “Of course, the UW and Runstad Center also have a great reputation.” He’s additionally attracted to Seattle’s growing real estate market and influx of capital. Finally, Korbi is also a big outdoor fan. “I can drive 30, 45 minutes and go hiking, kayaking, all sorts of activities!”

Since graduating from University of Puget Sound with his business degree, Brendan knew that he wanted to become a real estate developer. His career has included positions with Lease Crutcher Lewis and Olympic Property Group, but Brendan wanted additional education to compliment his work experience. “Back in 2006, I thought about the University of Southern California’s program. When the Runstad Center added the MSRE degree, I knew I wanted to be at the University of Washington. This is my home market and I’ll be able to obtain my degree while still gaining valuable experience in my role at Olympic Property Group,” Brendan says.

The most surprising aspect of the Runstad Center for both Korbi and Brendan is the incredible amount of industry support. “During Orientation week, we met so many people. Through this program we get to really know the real estate industry and our advisory board,” says Korbi. He nods in agreement, as Brendan adds, “We got to see the industry behind the scenes, where most people don’t get to see. I knew I would network and make friends, but this week solidified us as a class, and we built strong relationships even before our first class.”

“At first I couldn’t believe I needed to take a week’s worth of vacation to do Orientation Week,” Brendan laughs, “but it was totally worth it.”

“So why real estate?” asks Brendan, noting Korbi’s youth. Korbi is 22, but has known since high school that he wanted to work in real estate. “I’m creative, but I want to organize. Real estate is a perfect match of both worlds for me,” Korbi explains. Following graduation, he will be going back to Germany where he will work for his sponsor, the Staudinger Group, for five years. “I’m still trying out different aspects of real estate, but I’m drawn to development and asset management at a portfolio level, which are all important business lines at Staudinger,” he adds, “Following that, we’ll see where I go, depending on the opportunity, of course!”

Korbi poses the same question to Brendan. Why real estate? What aspect of real estate are you drawn to? “I’m pursuing development,” Brendan responds, “During undergrad, I thought I’d pursue a career as a financial advisor and did an internship at Morgan Stanley. After a few months, I knew it wasn’t the right fit for me. My business school invited alums to talk to us every Thursday night. On one of those evenings a gentleman by the name of Tom Leavitt explained to us his transition from being an attorney to a real estate developer. By the end of his presentation, I knew that I would do whatever it took to become one myself. I love being a developer because you get to see your project when you finish. You get to live it and it lasts a lifetime.”

“It lasts a lifetime. I love that,” responds Korbi.

“To your point, real estate development allows me to be creative. For my current project in Gig Harbor, I’ve collaborated with my team and an artist to build a natural park that engages with the community. The whole project will include single family homes, multifamily units, retail, and numerous parks and trails. It is a beautiful example of what the Growth Management Act set out to do; increase density while preserving greenspace. I don’t know where else I can have such a cool job!” Brendan says enthusiastically as he shares photos of artwork for the parks.

As future leaders of the real estate community, the conversation turns to the biggest issues facing Seattle. Despite only having lived in Seattle for a month, Korbi immediately answers, “Easy question. Transit. Especially coming from Europe.”

Brendan laughs and agrees, and then adds, “Population growth is also a big challenge. As a developer, I’m against urban sprawl. We need to be able to do more infill projects in order to preserve our resources and natural landscape. Also, I’m excited for the potential of driverless cars and what that means for development. Parking structures might be a thing of the past and they make great redevelopment sites.”

Despite these challenges, Brendan and Korbi both love Seattle. Some of their favorite things? “Tango’s El Diablo dessert,” says Brendan, “You need to go try it.” Korbi is game, but he is enjoying Seattle because of the great opportunities and easy access to the mountains and outdoor recreation. Brendan agrees and says “If you like the mountains, you should come with me night skiing after class during winter quarter, there isn’t a better way to end a day after class.” “That sounds great”, replies Korbi as the two start planning their wintertime adventure.

MSRE New Student Orientation Week

New MSRE students dove into their school year on Monday, September 19, 2016 with a week-long orientation that took them from the University District to Bellevue, Pioneer Square, Downtown, to Kent.

“The Runstad Center has multiple goals for its’ week long orientation program for students. We want students to begin their studies with inspiration from the best projects and most engaging leaders in the industry. We want students to connect with the industry from the get go – to learn about the industry organizations and how they can participate in them; to meet the advisory board members, mentors and our alumni so they can call on them as resources throughout their time with us,“ says Suzanne Cartwright, Associate Director of the Runstad Center.

During this week, the MSRE Class of 2018 met with faculty and professors to learn about the robust curriculum and elective offerings provided by the Runstad Center, and were introduced to real estate community networks, including ULI, NAIOP, CoreNet, and CREW. This ambitious week also had the students visiting some of the most prominent projects in this region, notably the new Amazon Headquarters, the Spring District, and the new Weyerhaeuser Headquarters.

Taryn Rehn, MSRE Class of 2018, said, “It was an action packed orientation week filled with inspiring speakers, events, and tours. We got a rare tour of Amazon headquarters wherein the Director Global of Real Estate and Facilities described how their workplace design strategy supports the dynamic company culture… Part of the reason I chose the Runstad program was the involvement of the greater Puget Sound real estate community. This extraordinary level of support became evident as dozens of industry leaders offered presentations, did facility tours, and attended welcome events.”

Orientation week also allowed the new students build rapport with each other. As Suzanne puts it, “…we want them to build esprit du corps among themselves – to appreciate the diversity of perspectives and experiences that each student brings to the class – and to create a community of learners, an atmosphere of safety within which risks can be taken. An intimate graduate seminar program located in a dynamic, progressive city deserves no less!”

The Runstad Center is built on incredible industry support. This busy week allowed the next generation of real estate leaders to meet with well over 80 established real estate professionals.

“The Orientation Week is something that really sets this program apart… and it absolutely started the academic year off on the right foot… I was very impressed with the individuals who donated their time to meet with us all around the city. We met executives, developers, construction managers, property managers, brokers, and the list goes on and on. Their willingness to share their expertise and insight with us was very much appreciated,” said Will Mentor, MSRE Class of 2018.

“Local real estate professionals met with us in mentorship groups and one on one. Not only are they willing to be available while we’re in the program but they wholeheartedly want to be a helpful resource. They’ve made a long term commitment to the success of the Runstad program and its’ ability to produce future industry leaders. I was impressed by their generosity, being willing to volunteer time out of their busy schedules… Overall it was a fun, memorable week and set a very positive tone for our studies at the Runstad Center,” added Taryn.

MSRE students compete in the Corenet Global Academic Challenge

MSRE Candidates Hang Yin, Mingzhe Wang, Youyang Wang, and Zi Cai

Four Runstad Center students participated in the 2nd Annual CoreNet Global Challenge, in which student teams from universities around the world apply their education to one real-world issues facing companies around the world: how to attract, retain and motivate the next generation of knowledge workers. Putting themselves in the position of a consulting team to a large, multinational corporation, Hang Yin, Zi Cai, Youyang Wang, and Mingzhe Wang, developed an approach that fully reflected the diversity and experience of their team. “…We identified several key questions that we can investigate and address in the final competition, such as: in many organizations, leaders make decisions on what kind of space/culture one organization should have. However, is there a way to improve so that employees can make decisions on space or culture, or if there is a mechanism for leaders to better understand what their employees truly want,” reflects Hang. The team was advised by CoreNet Washington members and faculty advisor Kelli Leith.

Hang adds, “I think this competition provides us a good opportunity to stretch our thinking on how to make an organization more attractive. More specifically, we spent time doing research, narrowing down our topics, discussing and providing our answers, and networking and asking for feedback during this competition. Considering none of us had opportunities making corporation strategy directly, we thought that this competition made us a really valuable experience.” While the team’s submission was not selected for the final round in Philadelphia, their application will still be considered for the CoreNet competition in Shanghai in 2017. In preparation for this potential, the Runstad team will be looking at the Philadelphia winners’ proposals, and reflect on potential upsides to include in their own proposal.

Commercial RE Certificate Student Profile: Celeste Lenon

Celeste Lenon has enjoyed a multifaceted career, having worked in architecture, technology and finance. Her collective experience led her to her current role as COO of MG2, an international architectural and design firm headquartered in Seattle. MG2 is well known for their robust portfolio in retail, food and beverage, and hospitality, and in Seattle, they are currently working on the Altitude Hotel and Residences, and Tower 12 in Seattle. Celeste is responsible for improving company processes, and oversees accounting, marketing, human resources, IT, and program management. As COO, Celeste fully recognizes the importance of understanding the diverse industries her firm interacts with, which led her to enroll in this year’s UW Commercial Real Estate Certificate Program. “Being very data driven, I want to understand the full process so that we can be a better partner to developers by understanding what drives them.“ The CRE program’s multidisciplinary curriculum was of great appeal to Celeste, who hopes to bring what she learns in the program back to her team. “We can make better decisions if we are more informed and can get ahead of the curve.”

Outside of MG2 and the CRE program, Celeste enjoys taking cooking classes and tending her garden, and spending time with her three kids and two horses.

Urban Land Institute Regional Cascadia Conference 2016

The Urban Land Institute Regional Cascadia Conference of 2016 was hosted in Vancouver, BC this year over the weekend of June 22nd. The Runstad Center for Real Estate Studies was represented by Ka-Chung Kwok (Class of 2017) and Alastair Townsend (Class of 2017) as attendees to this event. The following post is Ka-Chung’s impressions of the conference. The Runstad Center Advisory Board’s generous donations helps to send students to one regional or national conference while earning their degree.

This conference was initiated by keynote speaker Mark Gilbreth – Founder of Liquidspace – a company that leverages mobile technology and social networking to capitalize on shifting needs of modern workplace tenancy. Based on a business model often referred to as “AirBnB of office space”, Liquidspace aims to activate structural vacancies caused by the traditional long-term multi-year leasing model. Mark’s keynote provided insight into the future of commercial office space brokerage as one that is becoming multi-faceted, real time data-driven and collaborative in nature between traditional brokerages with new technology driven participants. He predicts that by 2020 fifty percent of all office space transactions will be online.

A Panel discussion titled “The 21st Century City” then followed involving Real Estate experts and policy makers from Vancouver (Councillor Raymond Louie, Marc Josephson – Grosvenor Americas), Seattle (Garbriel Grant – Spectrum Development) and Portland (Lisa Abuaf – Portland Development Commission). This discussion compared and contrasted the recent growing pains found common to all three cities – rapidly escalating real estate prices, shortage of affordable working-class housing, and the complexities in providing effective Transit oriented developments. Each city took different approaches in crafting their policies with some common goals – Increasing affordability of housing, expanding transit options, and densification of the urban core. There are also some very unique factors – While Seattle is faced with a severe shortage of condominium supply for first-time home buyers due to the development risks associated by the Washington Condo Act; the reverse effect is happening in Vancouver where there is a shortage in supply of rental units.

The second half of the ULI conference focused on Site tours of notable upcoming development projects and recently completed projects in Vancouver. Highlights include Telus Garden and the Central post office adaptive reuse project in the downtown Core, Marine Gateway Transit oriented development along the Canada line, Brewery District in Westminster BC and the Downtown Eastside Urban Renewal project.

Washington State Condominium Report released today

The Runstad Center’s Washington State Condominium Report was released today. MSRE student, Center researcher, and author of the report David Leon shares his thoughts…

The City of Seattle has been experiencing unprecedented population and economic growth over the last five years. As the city’s population has increased and the number of high-paying jobs has grown, prices for housing have increased significantly. Condominium development could provide an affordable in-city option for new housing. At present, condominiums are not being built in sufficient numbers to meet demand, and those that are being built are being sold at prices that are beyond the means of the average-income individual. Reasons for this dynamic include financing and capital markets, insurance coverage, and to some degree, legal liability for condominium developers. This paper examines the current state of the housing market in Seattle, focusing on construction of new condominiums, with comparisons to six other Western cities. The paper then examines elements of the Washington Condominium Act that may bear on the heightened liability for condominium builders, and suggests some options for reducing the liability, after comparison to four other states and the Canadian province of British Columbia. Changes to the Washington Condominium Act may be necessary but not sufficient conditions for the building of more affordable condominium units in Seattle. Financial incentives may be required to create the conditions for more affordable condominiums. For the market to be incentivized to build more affordable condominiums without public subsidy, economic opportunity for builders must offset the greater perceived risks and inefficiencies of smaller scale building through lower costs. Insurance costs and the risk of litigation are factors that, if mitigated, can contribute to tipping the scale toward the delivery of more affordable for-sale condominium product.

Sales price tranches for Seattle new condominium sales, 2010-2015.

The Center’s findings were discussed further with UW Today. Click here for the full report.

Lessons for Seattle from San Francisco

Several of our MSRE students recently visited San Francisco for the ULI Fall Meeting. David Leon shares his thoughts on the changes and challenges in that city, and how they compare to the ones we are facing here in Seattle. Thanks, David!

A former colleague once said to me Seattle reminded him of San Francisco 15 years ago. I find that there are many parallels: both cities are land-constrained, surrounded by beautiful scenery, tech-industry hubs, and are facing affordability and livability issues in housing as their growth cycles compound.

At the ULI Annual Conference earlier this month in San Francisco, both walking around and in conference sessions, I noticed many changes that may be coming to Seattle. San Francisco’s waterfront highway has already come down, and the industrial waterfront has been transformed into tourist, office, and retail space. Oakland, the blue-collar city across the bay, is now the regional shipping and industrial port. Seattle’s viaduct will be gone soon, and a similar transformation could happen here, with the seaports of Seattle and Tacoma recently combining.

San Francisco has long been facing the challenge of homelessness and housing affordability. I remember when I was in college in the late 1990’s walking along sections of Market Street where every alcove and doorway was occupied by somebody in their sleeping bag. This time, I saw only a few people sleeping on the street. Maybe they just moved to the park, but I also heard conference presenters talking about building micro-apartments downtown for formerly homeless people. One could hope that Seattle would adopt a similar solution in addition to, or rather than, supporting the open-air encampments that currently exist in various locations around town.

Micro units also seemed to be the path to greater affordability, with developer Patrick Kennedy of Panoramic Interests presenting on how both profitability and affordability improve when multi-family units are built smaller, with parking eliminated from buildings. Professor Carol Galante of U.C. Berkeley’s Terner Center for Housing Innnovation presented on how trends show more and more people moving into urban centers, with rental units as the fastest growing segment of the housing market. This despite 70% of U.S. housing stock being single-family and zoned as such. Her prediction was for greater density in urban centers, and assisted by government intervention like reducing the mortgage interest deduction, or not taxing accessory dwelling units.

The most impressive project presented at the conference was the Transbay Transit Center. This is a massive effort to build out a multi-modal downtown transit center connecting the cities around the Bay Area via rapid transit, as well as the train to Los Angeles. The transit center features a shopping mall as well as a large park on top of the roof. The Transbay Joint Powers Authority was able to build with money from selling off surrounding land to developers, who are building what will be some of the largest office and multi-family buildings in the city, effectively extending the city’s skyline to the south of the Oakland Bay Bridge. The tallest of these structures, the Salesforce building, would be the tallest in the city.

Another noteworthy presentation included a case study of Twitter’s new headquarters at Market Square, a renovated space that transformed an older building to suit the needs of the new tech economy. And following up on that concept, several presenters invited us to imagine the future of a city that does not depend on workers going to any particular place to get work done, where nobody needs to own cars because cars would drive themselves and be available on demand, and where goods are bought and sold online in a global marketplace that need less retail spaces and more warehouses.

It was a very inspiring conference and a great trip. How these trends and ideas might come to Seattle will of course be a matter of current trends in affordability, as well as overall market forces. But ultimately any local transitions will be a test of whether there is sufficient popular will to move forward toward a denser, more transit-and-tech oriented city.

The Ferry Building

Breakfast with Runstad Center board members

View of Market Street and the palace hotel from NW ULI reception at One Kearny

Mural near Civic Center

TransAmerica Building

Travel benefits for Runstad students

One of the many benefits of an education at the Runstad Center is the unique opportunity to travel to a national conference and have exclusive access to a number of prominent figures in the industry. Our students who attended the recent ULI fall meeting had a fruitful and exciting visit to San Francisco. Shanon Ford writes in with this report from the City by the Bay:

“Recently, the Runstad Center arranged for members of the Class of 2016 to attend the Urban Land Institute’s Fall Meeting in San Francisco. This conference of over 6,500 people allowed us to experience a major national real estate conference and learn from great speakers including Condoleeza Rice, Jerry Brown, and Brian Chesky, CEO and Co-Founder of Airbnb. While the conference was great to participate in and learn from, the true value of the event was the behind-the-scenes events that the Runstad Center set up for the students. We were able to talk one-on-one with principals of several real estate companies including the huge industrial REIT, Prologis. The event was educational and fulfilling and was just another example of the broad exposure to the real estate industry the Runstad Center provides to its students.”

RE Club hosts Argus training session

One of the perks of being a Runstad Center MSRE student is the support we enjoy from the University of Washington Real Estate Club. The Real Estate Club provides opportunities for networking, career development, and property tours for students who have an interest in real estate. Reflecting the interdisciplinary nature of the real estate industry, its membership is comprised of students from the College of Built Environments, Foster School of Business, Evans School of Public Affairs, and the UW School of Law. The club is always open to other members of the UW community.

This week, the Real Estate Club provided 30 students with the opportunity to attend a 2-day certified Argus training for the newest version of Argus Enterprise. Traditionally, the 2-day training session, training materials, 6-month subscription to Argus Enterprise and the ability to take the certification test would cost each student $1,800 to participate. However, with support from the Runstad Center, the Club was was able to offer a reduced rate of just $300 per student.

We offer our congratulations to the Real Estate Club leadership on this successful event – working together to make our students more competitive once they enter the job market!

UW team advances to finals in low-income housing competition!

A team of MSRE, M. Arch, MUP and MPA students from the University of Washington has been advanced to the final round in the Bank of America Merrill Lynch Low Income Housing Challenge 2015. Their proposal was for an affordable, multifamily housing development in the Wedge neighborhood of Tacoma. The Wedge neighborhood is located at a key intersection with the middle class North End neighborhood to the north and west and the low income Hilltop neighborhood to the south and east. Lead by interdisciplinary faculty mentors including the Runstad Center’s Al Levine, the team aims to take the ﬁrst step toward realizing a community-based vision for the new Wedge neighborhood with the development of affordable housing for local households.

Their next steps will be to develop a final written proposal and multimedia presentation, which will be shown at the celebration event next month in San Francisco.

Congratulations to our students for having their thoughtful concept and hard work recognized – and good luck!!