Developers’ Den Case Competition Celebrates 10th Anniversary
Developers’ Den – Canada’s longest running and most prestigious international real estate case competition – celebrated its 10th anniversary recently. The real-world competition provides future real estate leaders with a unique experiential learning opportunity to hone their skills, test their knowledge and receive feedback from leading industry professionals who act as judges for the presentations and proposals.
The competition included teams from Columbia University, Cornell University, the Rotman School of Management at University of Toronto and the Schulich School of Business at York University. Twelve teams made their pitches in the semi-final round and three went on to the finals to compete for the top prize.
The hypothetical case was prepared by Schulich MBA graduate and a Development Manager at SmartCentres, Christine Trinh, and involved the potential re-development of an existing SmartCentres shopping centre located in north Toronto.
The competition’s final round was judged by:
- Mitchell Goldhar, Founder and Executive Chairman of SmartCentres REIT;
- Dan Marinovic, Chief Development Officer of DREAM Unlimited;
- Jaime McKenna, Managing Director and Group Head of Real Estate for Fengate;
- Toni Rossi, President of Real Estate for Infrastructure Ontario; and
- Ted Willcocks, Global Head of Asset Management, & Real Estate for Manulife Investment Management.
A team of Schulich candidates from the Master of Real Estate and Infrastructure (MREI) program won first place this year. The winning team, comprised of John Van, Tracy Hui, Matthew Miklas and Adam Hawkswell, received a $6,000 grand prize.
Schulich’s MBA and MREI team, Anubhav Sharma, Nicholas DiCastri, Preyaa Soni, placed second and received $3,000. Cornell’s MBA team, Jack Li, Joshua Lau, Madhura Kharche, and Nathan Xu, placed third and received $1,500.
“Friday was a special day due to the efforts of a dedicated alumni planning committee and Schulich staff focused on the success of the event, the active and enthusiastic participation of nine industry judges, and the sizable number of attendees who came to witness the finals and network with the students afterwards,” said Jim Clayton, the Timothy R. Price Chair at Schulich’s Brookfield Centre in Real Estate and Infrastructure. “It was also a night of engagement between students, alumni and other industry supporters that we believe benefits everyone involved in this ecosystem of partners.”
Along with presenting sponsor Altus Group, sponsors included Cadillac Fairview, Capital Developments Canada, SmartCentres REIT, NYX Capital Corp., Manulife Investment Management, PCL Construction, Bousfields Inc., Fiera Real Estate, Harbour Equity, and Thorek/Scott and Partners.
This year’s case competition was co-hosted by Schulich’s Brookfield Centre in Real Estate & Infrastructure and the Schulich Real Property Alumni Association. Proceeds from Developers’ Den will benefit Schulich’s Real Estate and Infrastructure Student Experience Fund.