Over 200 Attend as Developers’ Den Competition Turns 11
May 14 was a remarkable day for the Schulich Real Estate and Infrastructure community as teams comprised of Master of Real Estate and Infrastructure (MREI) and MBA students, specializing in Real Estate and Infrastructure, competed in the 11th annual Developers’ Den competition. It was a virtual experience extraordinaire with over 200 guests in attendance, including Schulich team participants, ten sponsors, and 12 industry judges.
This year’s Den included 44 students on nine teams competing to determine the three finalists that would battle it out for the Developers’ Den trophy and cash prizes.
The case focused on a three-acre parcel of land near the Wilson subway station in Toronto, part of the 370-acre Downsview Airport Lands being master planned by Northcrest Developments. Teams were tasked with creating an innovative vision and executable mixed-used plan to develop the land as the first phase of what will ultimately become a vibrant community supporting jobs, affordable housing, parks, and unique public spaces. Looking through a lens of equity, diversity, and inclusion, the recommendations also needed a long-term financial outlook and development objectives, including a commitment to creating inclusive and sustainable communities.
Congratulations to the winners––1st runners-up: Richard Fucheng Zhou, Song Han, Matthew Muto, Yoni Jonathan Schreiber, Mario Quintanilla; Runners-up: Imad Haddad, Christine Blair, Matthew Cesta, David Bafi, Fayaz Ladha; and DDXI Champions: Ahmed Kafaghy, Mahek Shah, Adam Rose, Saalik Soleja, Maithili Gupta.
“Developers’ Den is an integral component of our co-curricular activities. It enhances the educational experience for our students while engaging the alumni and broader industry communities at the same time,” said Jim Clayton, Director and Timothy R. Price Chair, Brookfield Centre in Real Estate and Infrastructure. “Hats off to the alumni volunteers and my Brookfield Centre and Schulich colleagues who worked tirelessly to make this event, not only happen, but shine in these challenging times. Also, kudos to our students for embracing the opportunity to participate and stepping up big time. And finally, a big thanks to the judges and sponsors for their support in helping make this event an extra special one for the students and final round attendees.”
This year’s Committee members included alumni Christian Petersen, Co-Chair (MBA ’13), Nick DiCastri, Co-Chair (MREI’ 20), Jamil Damji, Sponsorship (MBA ’15), and Tracy Hui, Marketing & Communications (MREI ’20). The case site was provided by Northcrest Developments and written by Jinny Tran (MBA ’20) and her colleague Annie Yang.
We are grateful to our semi-final round judges: Louie DiNunzio (MBA ’01), Nicole Vicano (MBA ’11), Ari Silverberg, Carlo Timpano, Scott Chandler, Christine Cote, Kamran Soleiman, Raymond Wong, and Toby Wu; and our final round judges: Derek Goring, Salima Rawji and Mazyar Mortazavi.
Finally, we salute and thank our generous DDXI sponsors: Altus Group, the Presenting Sponsor of Developers’ Den; and Supporting Level Sponsors: R-Labs, Cadillac Fairview, Campus Suites/Quad/Forum Equity Partners, EllisDon, Forest Gate, Harbour Equity, Manulife Investment Management, NYX Capital and SmartCentres.
