BY JOSHUA MIRANDA | APRIL 23, 2020
An idea to transform the Orlando Fashion Square Mall into a “lifestyle center” earned first place at the NAIOP Central Florida / UCF Real Estate Case Competition on April 15. Students Brian Cochrane, Alex Eastwood, Michael McLamb, Amanda Schmidt and Michael Wensinger won the judges’ favor with their comprehensive plan to create a mixed-use development to replace the aging shopping mall.
“We pitched a ‘one-stop shop’ type of development for the Fashion Square Mall,” Wensinger said. “We wanted to really be the destination for any walk of life, for whatever you’re planning on doing.”
Student competitors made their final presentations via Zoom video conference to a group of industry judges and local real estate professionals. Throughout the semester, each team had access to industry mentors representing different components of the commercial real estate development process. Bill Moss, Director of the UCF College of Business’ Dr. P. Phillips Institute for Research and Education in Real Estate, called the competition an incredible opportunity for students, faculty and college partners alike.
“The UCF Real Estate Case Competition is a great chance for students to network and build relationships with industry mentors who participate,” Moss said. “All the teams did a great job and represented themselves and the Dr. P. Phillips School of Real Estate program very well.”
The winning student team was also featured in the first episode of “NAIOP Good News,” a video produced by NAIOP Central Florida.