Residential Development Class “Builds” in Philadelphia, PA
Each spring, first year Program in Real Estate students enroll in a practice-oriented course, Residential Development. Students in this class are given the opportunity to apply lessons learned in the classroom to a real-world project. This year’s site is a 2.5 acre property in Philadelphia, PA owned by Toll Brothers, Inc., a Pennsylvania-based luxury homebuilder. Students team up to tackle the development process with the oversight of experienced industry professionals. The course incorporates multi-disciplinary principles from architecture, engineering, finance, law, and sales. The students experience the process as would the developer: touring the proposed site, performing a market study, creating an entitlement strategy, defining product concepts, preparing financial projections, crafting the site plan and product mix, preparing a comprehensive feasibility analysis, and presenting final project recommendations to the developer.
In early February, the students traveled to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to walk the site and surrounding neighborhood. They also toured various competing projects to become familiar with the market competition. The developer controlling the site provided both classroom and on-site briefings, identifying the site’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats, and provided copies of an earlier Phase I environmental study. The site has a long and varied history. It was originally used as an ice-cream factory, but has since been converted to a parking garage used by the University of Pennsylvania. The site is adjacent to Naval Square, an existing Toll Brothers development. Toll Brothers have directed students to create a comprehensive plan that complements the existing uses surrounding the site.
Working in teams of five to six, students must determine the land’s market opportunity. From this, they derive a program incorporating the site’s highest and best use. Each team’s project hinges on its decision to demolish the existing structure and build from the ground up, or to work with the existing structure. The teams will likely redevelop the site for varying combinations of residential and retail uses. The project provides the students with flexibility on the design and intended uses. The program must be illustrated and detailed with schematic drawings, plans, sections and massing models. Cost and investment opportunities are brought to bear on the site design.
Ian Mckay (PRE ’11) commented, “The Residential Development course has provided a broad overview of the various residential product types. It’s great to be able to work on a real project on which I can incorporate concepts I learned in classes such as Construction Management and Marketing and Management. The comprehensive nature of this project emphasizes the importance of coordinating the various disciplines involved in a real estate project.” The project will culminate with each team providing a formal written report and oral presentation to Toll Brothers executives and Cornell University faculty.