A 30-acre vacant industrial site in nearby Fayetteville, New York, was at the center of the inaugural Whitman Real Estate Case Competition, held March 27 at the Whitman School of Management. Groups of students were challenged to come up with the “highest and best” redevelopment plan for the existing site, which contains a large vacant industrial building and an extensive amount of undeveloped land. The purpose of the competition was to supplement classroom learning with an experiential opportunity that educates, exposes and prepares students for a future in the real estate profession, according to Professor of Practice Adam J. Fumarola, executive director of the Kuhn Real Estate Center at the Whitman School of Management.

Eleven teams of undergraduates entered the competition. Each cross-disciplinary team of three to five was required to have at least one Whitman student in the group. Students studied all aspects of the property, with some even visiting the actual site, to assess sustainability, environmental considerations, zoning, timeline, noise, costs and community concerns and/or needs.

Each team created an initial redevelopment plan that was reviewed by a volunteer committee of real estate professionals who devoted a great deal of time and expertise to assess the ideas and whittle the entries down to the top 5.

This review committee included Kelli Berke, director of global brokerage/commercial real estate, Cushman & Wakefield; Steve Case ’11 MBA, owner of Acropolis Realty; Mike Dunyk ’06 (MAX), a real estate professional and adjunct instructor in Whitman’s real estate program; and Bob Frank ’83, ’90 MBA, owner of University Area Apartments.

Once selected, the finalists had nine days to prepare and submit detailed presentation materials. The finalists were:

Eko-sted: Anna Dyjach ’29 (WSM/MAX), Ronan Hussar ’26, Hans Pedersen ’26 and Jayden Smith ’26 (IST).

Prime Property Partners: Tristan Benzaquen ’25, Ben Geller ’27, Brett Robinson ’27, Grant Swirnow ’27 and Matthew Zaretzky ’25

Regatta Realty: Joseph Biondolillo ’25, Benjamin Campbell-Reide ’26, Samuel Fernandez ’26 (WSM/NEW), Timofey Sitnik ’28 and Nikki Strauss ’28.

The Due Diligents: Adam Best ’25, Carly Conway ’25, Christian Ellis ’26, Nick Gee ’25 and Michael Pellizzari ’25

Triple Crown Development: Sophia DeRollo ’26, Riley Love ’26 and Julia Penfield ’25

The finalists were each assigned a mentor to guide their preparation of their presentation materials, Mentors provided students with an opportunity to learn from highly skilled real estate professionals.

Mentors who volunteered their time to assist the students were Joe Burton ’01, president of Core One Industrial; Jonathan Daniel ’94, principal at Knighthead; Siho Ham ’05, managing director at UBS; Jared Hutter ’06, CEO of Aptitude Development; and David Schwartz ’99, co-founder and principal at Slate Property Group.

On the day of the competition, the five teams presented their proposals to a panel of real estate professionals with diverse backgrounds and skill sets, including Ryan Benz ’11 M.S., managing partner of Redev CNY; Asher Flaum ’02 (FALK), president of Flaum Management Company; Professor of Real Estate and Finance Milena Petrova; Rey Sully ’10, president of Sully Development LLC; and Meg Tidd, CEO of VIP Structures. Scott Dumas, chairperson of the Village of Fayetteville Planning Board, was also in attendance as a special guest, providing students with valuable feedback on how a municipality would receive their proposals.

After extensive deliberation the judges selected The Due Diligents as the first place winners  for their vision to construct a 200-unit residential apartment building with an adjoining park that will preserve the environmental integrity of the site and the character of the Fayetteville community. Special consideration was given to the necessary zoning changes and the property’s designated migratory and diverse species concentration sites.

Second place was awarded to Regatta Realty for its plan to develop the site into The Grove at Fayetteville, a two-phase, mixed-use development transforming the vacant area into a vibrant community hub complete with a full-service grocery store, along with independent senior housing, which would align with the needs of the community in delivering long-term economic, social and environmental value to the village and surrounding area. The project leveraged the national trend of the resilience of a grocery store anchor and the demographic shift that shows that approximately 4 million people will need senior housing in the next five years across the U.S.

Triple Crown Development received third place for its plan to establish The Golden Oaks community, a mixed-use development designed for those age 55+ that includes 120 single-story standard and luxury homes, along with a retail strip composed entirely of local businesses inside the 18-unit Willow Apartments offering flexible leasing. The Golden Oaks will also offer a members-only destination with a pool, coffee shop, pickleball and fitness center to promote a sense of community.

Eko-sted and Prime Properties were each awarded honorable mention for their proposed site plans, which included a phased residential community featuring modern, sustainable living spaces; and a dynamic commercial hub with a 95,000-square-foot Costco Wholesale store and fuel station, respectively.

To celebrate their hard work and dedication, cash prizes were awarded to each of the finalist teams, including those receiving honorable mention.

The inaugural competition and awards were made possible due to generous donations from both Joe Burton ’01 of Core One Industrial and Cooper Horowitz, a leader in the commercial real estate finance industry.

“This inaugural real estate competition was a great success. I congratulate  all 11 groups for participating in this complex and challenging project that allowed the students to learn and practice the skill sets needed in the real estate redevelopment space,” says Fumarola. “Each group benefited from the encouragement, mentorship and feedback from Whitman alumni and other professionals working in this space, which is just another example of the experiential learning opportunities we provide at the Whitman School.”

For more information on the Whitman School’s Real Estate program, visit https://whitman.syracuse.edu/academic-areas/real-estate .