Commercial Real Estate Club Trek
Last November, 12 members of the Eller Commercial Real Estate Club flew to Dallas, Texas for a 2 day networking trip. Below are the details of the trip including the companies and alumni/professionals they met with:
Over the course of 2 days we met with 7 commercial real estate companies, many of which were among the top firms in Dallas. These firms included Blue Ridge Industrial, Mill Creek, KDC, Goldman Sachs, Crow Holdings, Weitzman, and Hines.
At Blue Ridge Industrial we held a round table with the firm's two founders, Nate Leifeld (UA alum) and Michael Trepani. Blue Ridge Industrial is a real estate private equity firm that was founded about 3 years ago, and already has over $150M in AUM. At this round table our members were able to ask questions about the current industrial market and the entrepreneurial route of real estate.
At Mill Creek we met Darren Schackman (UA alum), the CIO of the firm. Mill Creek is one of the most well-respected multifamily developers in Texas. We first met Darren Schackman for a round table discussion and catered lunch in their office, before taking a bus to tour a current development. At the development our members were able to have a great idea of what a property looks like before its finished, and ask questions about everything they saw.
At KDC we met with Jeff Innmon, Senior Vice President of Design and Construction. We were able to tour the second phase of the Epic project, an office building where Uber was going to move their new headquarters to. This project is still under development, so our members were able to ask questions about the development process and current office market.
After our meetings the first day we had a team dinner at the Katy Trail Ice House, sponsored by the club. This was a great team building experience where we were able to get to know everyone better and relax.
The next day, we started off our day by having a casual coffee chat with Zach Patterson (UA alum), Vice President at Goldman Sachs, and his team. Zach works on the multifamily acquisitions side of GS, and makes investment decisions all across the country. Our members were able to ask questions about different markets that he invests in, and similarities and differences between them.
At Crow Holdings, we met with Mia Blackman, an associate. We started this off with a round table discussion, where we were able to get a better understanding of what is responsible for the success of the most prominent real estate company in Texas. We then went on a guided
tour of their campus, which is more reminiscent of an Ivy League school than an office building, with debate halls, millions of dollars of art, and a putting green.
At Weitzman we met with Bob Young, Senior Managing Director, and his team. We held a roundtable discussion. We discussed how COVID has impacted his asset class, retail, and everything they have been doing to maintain success.
Lastly, we met with Sean Luther (UA alum), Associate at Hines. Here we met for a tour of a newly finished luxury multifamily building, The Victor. This building is located in Uptown Dallas, right next to the American Airlines Center. Here we were able to use some of the knowledge from our previous multifamily tours, and apply it here, instead asking questions about the finished product.