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| Letter from the Executive Director |
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The Thanksgiving holiday is a special time for families to gather and count their blessings. For us in the Burnham-Moores Center at USD, our extended "family" numbers in the thousands, so while we cannot literally gather 'round the dining room table to share our blessings, we want you to know that we truly appreciate your involvement in and support of the Center's many programs.
Where we do gather in large numbers is at our major conferences, specifically the Commercial Real Estate Trends conference held earlier this month, the Residential Real Estate Outlook conference on Dec. 18 with George Chamberlin of The Daily Transcript headlining the program, and the Annual Real Estate Conference on Jan. 30, featuring Sam Zell as keynote speaker. Please save the dates for these two upcoming conferences, each of which is designed to inform you and to challenge your thinking about how best to compete successfully in Southern California's real estate markets.
In addition to these "family gatherings," I want to be sure that you know you are invited to join us in other activities that may interest you or provide an outlet for your industry insight and expertise. For example, we currently have opportunities for . . .
1. Speakers in our classrooms, for our Real Estate Society, and for our Real Estate Alumni Association;
2. New members on three Policy Advisory Board committees: Residential Real Estate, Commercial Real Estate Committee, and Curriculum and Research Committee;
3. Career counseling and job opportunities: Mentoring of MSRE students, Shadow-an-Executive program, internships, part-time and full-time job opportunities; and
4. Industry instructors in our continuing education programs and speakers on our conference programs.
"Family" members helping one another also help themselves. We invite and welcome your active participation with us and our students. Firms that develop strong working relationships with the Center seem to be able to attract our best and brightest students as employees, expand and strengthen their business relationships with other companies, and increase their exposure within the real estate profession.
The Burnham-Moores Center faculty and staff are dedicated to making ours one of the "Top 10" real estate centers in America. We cannot achieve that goal without intense industry involvement, not to mention your continued financial support through gifts, endowments, scholarships, and research grants.
Thank you for all that you do and have a wonderful holiday season.
Dr. Mark J. Riedy
Executive Director
An enthusiastic group of 70 students, instructors, family members, and friends, attended the graduation ceremony for the first class to complete the "Certificate in Real Estate Finance, Investments, and Development" program. The ceremony and reception were held Nov. 14 in the Manchester Conference Center.
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Certificate program graduates and speakers take time to celebrate their achievement.
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Burnham-Moores Center commercial real estate director John Ferber praised the class for helping to break ground on the new program. "Thank you for being a part of this momentous occasion," Ferber said. "You exceeded our expectations."
Burnham-Moores Center executive director Mark Riedy complimented the class on the dedication it took to complete the 11-month program at night while working as real estate industry professionals during the day. Riedy said that the time spent was an excellent career investment, particularly given the dynamic and competitive field they are in.
"If we don't keep learning, we fall behind," he said, adding that, "There's no better laboratory for real estate than San Diego."
Keynote speaker Peter J. Hall, who is former president and chief operating officer of the Centre City Development Corporation, offered his own congratulations and advice to the group.
"You represent another important milestone in what is becoming a nationally recognized center of excellence in the field of real estate education," Hall told the graduates. "And it is, you, the students, who make this reputation a reality. You've earned the respect and support of your family, your friends, and our faculty."
While Hall acknowledged the planning that went into the students' decision to enroll in and complete the program, he also encouraged them to embrace the concept of "serendipity" and be prepared to take advantage of unexpected twists and turns in their careers. As illustration, Hall pointed to his own career path, which included a defining 11-year role as CCDC COO, as well as service at TWA, IBM, San Diego Federal Savings & Loan, and the U.S. Army.
Graduate David Lang said he enrolled in the program to see if he was ready for the transition to full-time MSRE student. "I thought the certificate program would be a good way to figure it out," says Lang, who is assistant controller at Capstone Advisors.
Lang also wanted to fill in the blanks in his real estate experience, given his so-far singular focus on the accounting and finance side of the business.
"It really opened my eyes to the other aspects of real estate and to know what questions to ask in certain situations to understand the full picture," he says. "There was a lot of practical knowledge, which was helpful — to learn the way things really work."
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Former HUD Secretary Cisneros Headlines Trends 2007 Conference
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Nearly 700 people gathered on the USD campus to hear the insights and experiences of industry leaders at the Real Estate Trends 2007 conference held Nov. 7 by the Burnham-Moores Center in conjunction with ULI.
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Panelists Michael McCook, William Lindsay, Jim McDevitt, and Chris McGibbon debate the future of real estate capital markets during the Trends 2007 conference.
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Former Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Henry Cisneros offered his thoughts on the nation's cities during his keynote address, which followed remarks by San Diego Mayor Jerry Sanders.
"This is a good time for America's cities," said Cisneros who now runs CityView, which develops workforce housing throughout the United States. "All across the country, you see center cities coming back." Cisneros said that rebuilding strong American cities requires a unity of purpose among residents, as well as a converging of private and public sector forces.
"We need to build the kind of entrepreneurial net to move our cities from enclaves of the very wealthy and fortresses of the very poor to cities that really work," he told those filling the Jenny-Craig Pavilion. "To get to true affordability in the market is very difficult now. It will probably require some form of public involvement."
San Diego proves particularly challenging, given its high cost of living, he said. "We're not going to be able to get to affordability in a city like San Diego without increased density."
Cisneros' remarks were followed by a series of panel discussions on major property types, municipal infrastructure deficits, and the future of real estate capital markets.
Conference attendees were surveyed on their individual opinions on the local real estate industry. When asked what effect the current residential real estate market slowdown in San Diego would have on the local commercial real estate market during the coming year, 48 percent of respondents said it would be neutral, 37 percent of respondents said that it would be negative, and 15 percent said it would be positive.
When asked when the residential real estate market would begin to recover, 58 percent said it would take longer than 12 months, 32 percent said it would be within 12 months, and 10 percent said it would be less than six months.
Finally, respondents were asked if their companies would be increasing or decreasing their staffs. Fifty-seven percent said they would be staying the same, 29 percent said they would be adding employees, and 14 percent said they would be downsizing.
Attendees at the upcoming Residential Outlook conference Dec. 18 also will be surveyed on their market insights via an interactive wireless system that provides immediate feedback.
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| Real Estate Society Takes Hard Hat Tour of Hard Rock Hotel | ^back to top
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Nearly 20 members of the University of San Diego's Real Estate Society received a private tour of the Hard Rock Hotel and Condo development on Fifth Street in downtown San Diego Oct. 25. Steven Barklis, president of Solana Vista Consulting, the project's originator, gave the USD group a presentation on the project, fielded questions from them and then took the students on an hour-long tour of the site, followed by lunch.
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Real estate students tour the site at the Hard Rock Hotel.
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Hard Rock Hotel will be San Diego's first branded condo hotel when it opens in late summer 2007. All 420 suites on the property are available for sale to individual owners and will be managed by the hotel staff while owners are away.
Now in its second year, USD's Real Estate Society has ramped up its activities this semester, booking two field trips to development projects in the San Diego area. The most recent trip took place Nov. 28 when the group traveled to Ocean Beach to view the site of People's Food Co-op, which is a LEEDs-approved green building.
The Real Estate Society has more than 30 active student members who attend meetings and other events. The group is led by MSRE student Tony O'Neill and guided by an executive committee comprised of eight other graduates and undergraduates who plan and promote real estate-related events that provide real-world experience and examples to students. Lisa Chambers, director of academic affairs and administration, is the adviser.
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Andrew Lurker (l) and Justin Glasser help spread the word about USD's program at the fall ULI conference in Denver.
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On Oct. 17-20, MSRE students Eric Frank, Justin Glasser, and Andrew Lurker attended the ULI Fall Conference in Denver, Colo., along with the Center's Lisa Chambers. The fall conference is the largest annual traveling event sponsored by the Urban Land Institute to provide education, collaboration, and networking opportunities for the real estate development industry.
The students had the opportunity to attend a variety of workshops, including sessions on "Downtowners: Who, Why, and What Next?," "Delivering Mixed-Use: Town Centers That Get It Right," "Infill Development: Creating New Product Value at a Small Scale," and "The Hospitality Industry: What's In and What's Out?"
The students also attended networking receptions during the conference, including a special off-site event with the ULI Young Leaders. The Young Leaders event was an especially important time for the MSRE candidates to interact with real estate professionals of similar age and experience and to build bridges with future leaders in the industry. When they weren't attending events, the students helped promote the Burnham-Moores Center to potential academic candidates and corporations interested in hiring USD real estate graduates.
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State Rep. Susan Davis congratulates Dr. Alan Gin on his award.
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Dr. Alan Gin, author of the University of San Diego's Index of Leading Economic Indicators, was named the Asian Business Association member of the year at the association's 16th annual awards dinner held Nov. 2 at the Sheraton San Diego Hotel & Marina. Founded in 1990, the ABA was created to unite and empower San Diego's Asian & Pacific Islander business community by creating opportunities for professional development and economic growth.
Gin is associate professor of economics in the University of San Diego's School of Business and an affiliated faculty member of the Burnham-Moores Center. He joined the ABA in 1996 and is currently a member of the association's advisory board. For the past few years, Dr. Gin has contributed articles on the Economic Outlook for the association's Compass e-newsletter.
During the awards presentation, which was attended by some 350 people, Gin was lauded for being "a great asset to the ABA" and a "pillar of the community."
Gin's insights on the local economy have made him a popular source for interviews; he has given nearly 800 interviews to local and media sources to date. For his work on forecasting the local economy, he has been named to the San Diego Business Journal's "Who's Who" list.
In addition to studying the local economy, Gin also has a keen interest in the business environment of Asia in general and of greater China in particular. He has taught in USD's Summer Study Abroad programs in Hong Kong and Beijing/Shanghai and has traveled extensively in the region.
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The Burnham-Moores Center for Real Estate is committed to delivering outstanding education, industry outreach, career placement, and research services to advance socially responsible leadership in real estate.
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