FALL/WINTER 2014
BIENNIAL REUNION / A NEW PLAY BOOK ABOUT
The Equity Kicker is the official newsletter of the Wisconsin Real Estate Alumni Association, Inc. CONTACT US:
www.wreaa.org office@wreaa.org (262) 746-9030 President
Brian Berry
Columbia Property Trust McLean, VA Executive Director and Editor
Christine Dicks WREAA, Inc. Pewaukee, WI GOLD PARTNER
Speakers, Panels Highlight New Play Book Biennial Reunion
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he 18th Biennial Wisconsin Real Estate Reunion and Conference held at the University of Wisconsin-Madison Campus attracted nearly 450 alumni, students, faculty and guests to this years’ program entitled, A New Play Book. Congratulations to Andrew Weir, Biennial Conference Chair, who lead the effort in putting together a first rate program featuring an impressive slate of speakers along with a line-up of cutting edge panel sessions. Preceding the biennial banquet, the 2014 Badger Golf Open was held at Hawks Landing Golf Club in Verona. Alumni Cody Langeness and Peter Deanovic coordinated the outing and presented the winning teams and players with prizes during the banquet festivities that followed. Highlights of the biennial banquet included the traditional presentation of the Wisconsin
SEE MORE PHOTOS ON PAGE 6
see PLAY BOOK on Page 6
IN THIS ISSUE
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Three new Board Members ...
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Column From New WREAA President ...
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New Center Director Named ...
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The Latest From the Real Estate Club ...
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WREAA BOARD OF DIRECTORS EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE Brian Berry, President (202) 365-8419 Andrew Weir, Vice-President (202) 533-2504 Steven Buss, Secretary/Treasurer (952) 924-4618 Christine Dicks, Executive Director (262) 746-9030
DIRECTORS Robert Perry, Immediate Past President (952) 984-3251
BOARD / INTRODUCING NEW MEMBERS
Say Hello to ... Alexander Antolino AT-LARGE DIRECTOR — RECENT GRADUATE
The WREAA Board of Directors welcomes Alexander Antolino, (BBA 2010) of DDR Corp. who was elected to serve as the At-Large Director - Recent Graduate. After completing the Management Training rotational program with DDR, Alex now serves as a development manager focusing on redevelopment projects in CA, FL and OH. Alex lives in Beachwood, Ohio. He is a member of ULI and ISCS where he is active with ICSC Next Generation. He maintains ties with the UW and the Real Estate students through the Career Fair and as a real estate program mentor.
Tyler Downs, Colorado/Texas (750) 420-1568 Kristine O’Meara, Eastern Wisconsin (414) 750-0008 Maxwell Peek, Illinois (312) 948-4566 Peter Deanovic, Minnesota (612) 779-4371 Cody Langeness, Northeast (212) 277-6427 John Simerlein, Northern California (415) 276-6947 James Geimer, Pacific Northwest (206) 661-3764
Maxwell Peek ILLINOIS REGIONAL DIRECTOR
Max Peek (BBA 2003) has joined the WREAA Board of Directors as the Illinois Regional Director. He is a Senior Vice President with Waterton Associates, LLC. Throughout his tenure at Waterton, Max has been responsible for the acquisition and disposition of over $1.7 billion in multifamily properties nationwide, including equity and debt level transactions. Currently, he oversees the investment team in the Eastern region of the United States, and focuses on new business development opportunities. Max lives in Chicago with his wife, Clara. He is a member of ULI, the NMHC and serves on the Wisconsin School of Business Board of Directors.
Tyler Edgarton, Southeast (404) 601-9500 Alan Carmichael, Southern California (949) 509-5006 Matthew Braun, Western Wisconsin (608) 833-8100 Alex Antolino, At-Large Director (216) 755-6706
ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICE Christine Dicks, Executive Director Mandy Kaegy, Admin. Coordinator Jane Miller, Admin. Coordinator
Wisconsin Real Estate Alumni Association, Inc. P.O. Box 307 Pewaukee, Wisconsin 53072 Website: www.wreaa.org Phone: (262) 746-9030
John Simerlein NORTHERN CALIFORNIA REGIONAL DIRECTOR
John Simerlein (BBA 2003) was elected to the WREAA Board of Directors in September. John is a Director in the San Francisco office of HFF, and is responsible for institutional investment property sales throughout the West Coast, with a focus on office, industrial and R&D properties. Prior to joining HFF, John was a Project Manager at Bristol Group, and was responsible for the acquisition, development, and asset management of value-add office and industrial properties throughout the United States. In addition, he was closely involved with the successful fundraising of more than $300 million of equity for two discretionary, close-end real estate funds. John lives in San Francisco, is active with the ULI and NAIOP, and enjoys traveling, golfing, snowboarding, wake-boarding and hiking.
3 MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT / BRIAN BERRY
Humbled & Honored to Lead Such a Great Organization
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t is my pleasure and honor to write to you as the new President of WREAA. My love of commercial real estate started in the fall of 1986 when I had the pleasure of being a student of Professor James Graaskamp for the Real Estate Process class. Shortly after graduating, my involvement with WREAA started as a young alumni member, when I helped to organize and attended the first international UW Real Estate Club field trip to Western Europe, led by Rod Mathews. I have stayed active as an alumnus ever since, including serving as a Regional Representative in the Washington, DC region and more recently as a WREAA Board member. I look forward to working closely with all of you to maintain and grow WREAA as the premier real estate alumni association in the United States. First and foremost, I wish to extend our appreciation to outgoing President, Robert Perry, for his dedication and insightful leadership on the WREAA Board for the past decade. I would also like to thank our outgoing Board Members including Brandon Buza, Matt Ewig, and Gretchen Frankenthal for their service on the Board. We look forward to their continued involvement in the WREAA and in their local regions.
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our former WREAA President. Roy March is a true leader within our industry and he has been an avid supporter of the UW Program for many years. Alumnus Jeff Cavanaugh, Senior Managing Director at Invesco, received the Distinguished Alumni Award, commemorating his long service to WREAA and dedication to the real estate students and faculty at the University of Wisconsin. A spirited appearance by the UW Marching Band and Bucky Badger capped off the Banquet. The success of our conference was due directly to the hard work and dedication of our Conference Chair, Andrew Weir and our Executive Director, Chris Dicks as well as WREAA staff members Mandy Kaegy and Jane Miller. Special thanks are also extended to the many alumni and friends who served as speakers or moderators in our panel and case study sessions. We are also grateful to the Real Estate Club members who volunteered at the Conference. The financial support from 21 corporate sponsors and our 2 gold partners (Eastdil Secured and First American Title), will provide important financial resources to WREAA throughout the coming year. This kind of support has allowed us to deepen our impact
I look forward to working closely with all of you to maintain and grow WREAA as the premier real estate alumni association in the United States.
In late September, we successfully conducted the 2014 Biennial Reunion and Conference in Madison. We had over 425 registered attendees for this year’s program, which included keynote speakers, panel discussions and an update from faculty members on current initiatives within the UW Real Estate program. During the luncheon, Dean Francois Ortola-Magne provided an inspiring outline of the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead for higher education at the University of Wisconsin. At the evening Banquet, Roy March, Chairman of Eastdil-Secured, accepted the Wisconsin Award, presented by Bob Perry,
on the UW Real Estate Program. Some of our recent initiatives include funding for Argus training courses for students, scholarships, student field trips, and a targeted advertising campaign. The WREAA Board has begun to organize the 2015 Wisconsin Real Estate Trends Conference which will take place in Chicago. We welcome your input on the content, speakers and sponsorship of the Conference. Mark your calendars for September 17-18, 2015. see BERRY on Page 7
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4 UPDATE / REAL ESTATE PROGRAM
New Graaskamp Center Director Named By Abdullah Yavas Department Chair
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e are excited about the recent change in the management team of the Graaskamp Center. As of July 2014, Tim Riddiough has been appointed as the new Director of the Center. Tim is a seasoned Badger. He came to Wisconsin from MIT in 2001 where he was a tenured faculty member. Tim is also an alum; he received his Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin. Tim is not a stranger to the role of center directorship. He served as the director of the Graaskamp Center for
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We are also excited by the significant rise in our undergraduate enrollment. The number of real estate majors has increased to 206, from 156 majors in the spring of 2014 and 141 majors in the fall of 2013. We are working on increasing our MBA enrollments as well. The freshman class of our MBA program has 13 students, unchanged from last year. Similarly, we do not have as many students in our GREM program as we would like. This year we will be making a big push to recruit more students to our GREM program. Speaking of our students, they are doing really well at major case competitions. This year, our students are scheduled to participate in eight case competitions.
I was delighted to find out that, in just one semester, 179 of you were involved with our students and programs ... I do not believe any other real estate program can get even close to this number. Real Estate from 2004 to 2009. Tim has outlined the priorities for the center as strengthening the Real Estate MBA program, growing the Graaskamp Board of Advisors (15 New Board Members have already joined so far in fiscal year 2015), strengthening the corporate connections, developing an undergraduate engagement plan, and developing an M.S. Program in AREIT. Mike Brennan, the rest of the faculty and staff and I all look forward to working with Tim to further improve the quality and quantity of the activities organized by the Center. Our previous center director and colleague, Morris Davis, moved to Rutgers University. We wish Morris good luck with his new position. We will be on the market soon to search for a new colleague to further strengthen the depth and breadth of our faculty.
We view these case competitions as not only an opportunity to display the quality of education we offer, but also as a great learning opportunity for our students. Case-based teaching is playing an increasing role in our teaching strategy. In fact, we now offer a course based entirely on case studies. Our students also continue to participate at various international and national conferences, including MIPPIM, Expo REAL, International Trip, ULI and NAREIT conferences. Our Global Real Estate Markets conference, which has been a great success, was held again at the New York Stock Exchange on November 14th. Once again, it was an excellent program. As you all probably know, the school has a cutting edge teaching initiative to offer our students an Inspiring Learning Experience. see DIRECTOR on Page 5
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UPDATE / REAL ESTATE CLUB
New Members, Speakers, and NYC Trip Kick Off New Semester By Duffy Phelps & Zach Zanolli Co-Presidents
Fall Semester Outlook
The Real Estate Club is off to another great start this semester. Firstly, we have over 160 active members, and we continue to generate great attendance at all club meetings and events. Our initiative heading into the year was to increase interaction between BBA’s, MBA’s, and faculty, and we are focused on creating opportunities that help our members fulfill their career goals. Furthermore, we strive to establish an environment that helps foster lifelong relationships and a loyalty to the Wisconsin Real Estate program. We have tremendous pride in the program and unwavering admiration for all that have come before us, and we believe it is our duty to leave the club in a better place than when we first arrived on campus. Fall Speaker Series
Our fall kickoff meeting was held on Thursday, September 12, and
it turned out a record attendance. Ellen Kendall, Managing Director and head of Global Product Development for Prudential Real Estate Investors (PREI) was our guest speaker. She presented on real estate capital flows and announced PREI and PMCC’s available full-time analyst and associate positions. The annual Innovator Award was presented to Michael Toolis, Chairman and CEO of VOA Associates. Michael walked us through a number of his projects, most notably Navy Pier and the planned Wrigley Field renovations. Most recently, we were very fortunate to have Robb Bollhoffer (BBA ’99), Managing Director of 29th Street Capital, present to the club. Robb talked about starting his new company and captivated the room with stories of a few noteworthy transactions. Fall Semester Club Trips
The first club trip was a day trip to Milwaukee in early September. see REAL ESTATE CLUB on Page 7
This is a broad, multiyear educational innovation project that would transform the way we teach and deliver inside and outside of the classroom. Our department has been playing a pioneering role in this effort. As part of this initiative, we recently went through each of our courses and identified the Learning Outcomes for each course. We then identified the Learning Outcomes for each of the three degrees we offer (BA, MBA, GREM). We reached out to some of you for feedback during this process. While identifying the Learning Outcomes for our degrees, we recognized that we could improve the education and training of our students by adding a few new courses. Starting this year, we will be offering the following new courses: Capital Real Estate Markets; Case-based Investment Analysis; ARGUS (we would like to express our gratitude to WREAA for their support with this course); Google Sketch-Up; and Health Care Real Estate. As I shared with you in my department update at the Biennial Conference in September, I had asked Mary and Kate to put together a list of alums who were involved with our programs last spring. I was delighted to find out that, in just one semester, 179 of you were involved with our students and programs. These involvements included speaking at events, mentoring students, providing them with career advice, helping them with internships or recruitment, class engagement, and helping or joining the students with field trips. I do not believe any other real estate program can get even close to this number. We very much appreciate your involvement and support of our programs and students. With your sustained support, we will continue to work very hard to improve the quality of our education, outreach, and research so we can maintain our leadership in real estate education.
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BIENNIAL REUNION / A NEW PLAY BOOK
Conference a BIG Hit in Madison this is PLAY BOOK from Page 1
Award to long-time UW friend Roy March, CEO of Eastdil Secured. In addition, the President’s Award was presented to outgoing WREAA President Robert Perry of Carval Investors acknowledging his leadership of the WREAA over the past decade. Following insightful remarks by Roy March, Bucky Badger and the UW Marching Band arrived to rouse the crowd and stir up some Wisconsin spirit! The professional development segment of the Reunion began on Friday with an intriguing presentation on the subject of new urbanism by Jeff Speck, author of Walkable City and coauthor of Suburban Nation. Attendees of the alumni luncheon were entertained by keynote speaker Stephen Dubner, co-author of the recently released Think Like a Freak as well as Freakonomics and SuperFreakonomics.
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In addition, the President’s Award was presented to outgoing WREAA President Robert Perry of Carval Investors, acknowledging his leadership of the WREAA over the past decade. Other highlights of the day included panel sessions that focused on navigating the increased urbanization of the United States and deploying real estate capital across the risk spectrum. Two featured case study sessions focused on both commercial and residential development and repositioning. Many of the Badger football enthusiasts in attendance enjoyed taking in Saturday’s game at Camp Randall Stadium, as the Badgers defeated Bowling Green. WREAA Gold Partners Eastdil Secured and First American Title, along with the numerous companies who sponsored the Biennial Conference as event and patron sponsors, are gratefully acknowledged for their generous support of the program.
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All photos by e3 Photography, Inc.
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Bridget O’Meara (MBA ’15) and Joe Mahoney (MBA ’15), club Co-Vice Presidents, put together a great itinerary that included site visits to the Marquette Engineering and Law Schools, Ivy on Fourteenth, a new Opus student housing development project, and Café Bavaria, a cool restaurant/bar concept developed by Wisconsin alum Sean Phelan (MS ’98). The day was capped off with a Brewers game and pre-game “networking.” The club took its more traditional semester trip to New York City October 29th – 31st. Duffey and I worked closely with WREAA Director Cody Langeness (BBA ’06), New York City Representative Kristin Bertram (BBA ’06), and a number of other local NYC alumni to put together a great itinerary for the trip. Tours of Hudson Yards, 7 World Trade Center, 400 Park Avenue South, and an Ackman-Ziff Capital Markets presentation were just a few of the highlights.
Through the support of our members, sponsors and the astute leadership of WREAA by prior Board members and staff, the alumni association continues to be a growing organization with a sound financial footing. We are focused on increasing the quality and diversity of our regional WREAA events which are near an all time high. Improved sponsorship funding over the last three years has enabled WREAA to expand our services to members, while keeping dues levels relatively constant. Currently, we have more than 1,200 members across the United States and abroad, and have a strong desire to retain WREAA members at all levels of their careers. Securing the dedicated involvement in WREAA from recent graduates is critical
Club Outings and Events
We have been very active organizing events and outings for club members to interact with other members, alumni, and the local community. The MBA/BBA mentorship program, which was kicked off with a bowling mixer at Union South, has once again been a tremendous success. A group of members recently volunteered at the River Food Pantry, Dane County’s busiest food pantry, feeding over 600 families per week. Most recently, the club hosted a gathering at the Memorial Terrace for alumni in town for Homecoming weekend. Finally, we would like to thank Chris Dicks and the WREAA staff for all their help and support. We also need to thank our advisor Sharon McCabe, Graaskamp Center faculty and staff, and all of the alumni that continue to be a valuable resource for everything we do. It is impossible to express how grateful we are to receive such generous support from our dedicated faculty and alumni network, and there is not a day that goes by that we are not appreciative for all you do!
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Currently, we have more than 1,200 members across the United States and abroad, and have a strong desire to retain WREAA members at all levels of their careers.
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to the long term health of our Association. These members are future leaders within our industry and within WREAA. In addition, we will all greatly benefit from the continued involvement of our more senior alumni, who have served as the foundation of the alumni association. The wealth of their experiences and unique perspectives strengthen our entire networking community. The Board of Directors, Regional Market Representatives and WREAA Staff look forward to continuing to work with all of our stakeholders to support our members and the Real Estate Program at the University of Wisconsin. We welcome your recommendations and involvement in our association. Drop me a line or reach out to Chris Dicks, our Executive Director of WREAA with specific suggestions. Your ideas are invaluable. On Wisconsin!
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DEALS IN THE NEWS
Alumni Team Up On Purchase of Madison Hotels P
rudential Mortgage Capital Company recently provided a $26 million loan to The Raymond Group and The North Central Group to finance their purchase of the Madison West Homewood Suites and the Madison West Hampton Inn & Suites. Situated on adjacent parcels near West Towne Mall, the Hilton-franchised hotels were constructed in 2008 and act as “sister” properties that share a common target market. The
group made a generous donation to the Wisconsin Connection Fund in the name of the deal. Alumni involved in the deal were Matt Bertram (BBA 2002) with Prudential Mortgage Capital Co., David Lenz (BBA 1973) of The North Central Group and CJ Raymond (MS 1972) of the Raymond Management Company, Inc. Since 1997, the Wisconsin Connection Fund has been the
beneficiary of donations made by alumni and friends of the UW Estate Program who are involved in real estate transactions with one another. The Fund is controlled in its entirety by the Connection Fund Committee for the benefit of the UW Real Estate Program and is invested in the UW Foundation. To learn more about making a donation to the fund, visit the WREAA website or call the WREAA Office at 262746-9030.
NAMES IN THE NEWS Scott Zigler (BBA 1999) has joined Lee & Associates Kansas City as Director of Retail and Investment Brokerage in Overland Park, Kansas and can be reached at szigler@lee-associates.com. Chad M. Greene (BBA 1994) has joined JLL Mid-Atlantic Real Estate Investment Banking Group as Vice President in Washington, D.C. and can be reached at chad. greene@am.jll.com. Ryan Little (BBA 2013) has joined 29th Street Capital as Acquisitions Analyst in Chicago, Illinois and can be reached at rlittle@29thstreetcapital.com. Mark Molepske (MS 1986) has joined Ernst & Young, LLP as an Executive Director in Chicago, Illinois. Mark leads the Central US Region of Ernst & Young’s Transaction Real Estate practice. He can be reached at mark.molepske@ey.com. Ellen Vaassen (BBA 2014) has joined CUNA Mutual Group in Madison, Wisconsin and can be reached at ellen.vaassen@cunamutual.com. Justin Grabell (BBA 2014) has joined Avison Young as an Associate in New York, New York and can be reached at justinbardgrabell@gmail.com. Jacob Geiger (BBA 2013) has joined Coldwell Banker Richard Ellis, Inc. (CBRE, Inc.) as a Valuation Associate in Chicago, Illinois and can be reached at jdgeiger@wisc.edu. Erin Ketterhagen (BBA 2008) has joined Hammes Partners as a Transaction Coordinator in Brookfield, Wisconsin and can be reached at eketterhagen@gmail.com. Nathan Podratz (BBA 2000) has joined Mortenson Development, Inc. as Director of Capital Markets in Minneapolis, Minnesota and can be reached at npodratz@gmail.com. Brett Nelson (BBA 2009) has joined Vanderbilt Partners as Vice President in Chicago, Illinois and can be reached at brettkielnelson@gmail.com. Steven Feeney (BBA 2011) has joined Harrison Street Real Estate Capital as an Associate - Asset Management in Chicago, Illinois and can be reached at sfeeney14@gmail.com. Rachel Fox (BBA 2014) has joined PwC as a FSR Associate in Chicago, Illinois and can be reached at rfox424@gmail.com. Kyle Van Someren (MBA 2014) has joined Optio, Inc. as an Analyst in Madison, Wisconsin and can be reached at kyle.vansomeren@gmail.com.