Family-run real estate companies as well as large, established property firms often struggle to find the time to develop comprehensive management plans, holistic strategies, and operational benchmarks. Enter graduate students in the Marshall Bennett Institute of Real Estate. Each fall, students select 2-3 companies as clients and complete a comprehensive real estate management plan for their selected company, patterned after the Institute of Real Estate Management’s (IREM) plan required for the Certified Property Manager designation.
“Students examine all aspects of a company’s operations, organizational structure, market positioning, and more, for providing their client with invaluable data and actionable insights,” said Dr. David Funk, Pasquinelli Family Chair in Real Estate and course instructor.
This fall, retail, multi-family, and office/industrial company portfolios were studied for clients Mid-America Asset Management, Inc., AMLI/Skidmore, Owings, and Merrill, and Mako Properties. Mako Properties, a three-generation family firm started by Boris Nitchoff in the 1980s, was selected as a client at the urging of Lauren Nitchoff, granddaughter, employee, and graduate student in the Roosevelt Program.
“I came to the US (from Macedonia) not speaking much English, and just got into real estate,” said Boris Nitchoff, adding that running a fully integrated company that includes construction left little time for the operational benchmarking and strategic planning that the Institute’s team provided. The management plan provided incredible detail, market analysis, and organizational strategies that could lead to significant strategic changes for the company, noted Lauren’s father, Alex Nitchoff.
AMLI is a national apartment developer/owner/manager with a significant presence in Chicagothat, along with architecture firm Skidmore, Ownings, and Merrill, sought outside market and property management analysis for their building at 900 S. Clark. The team’s analysis affirmed AMLI’s strong operational efficiencies and quantified the net present value of a number of alternative courses of action. Placement of the AMLI 900 building within the current multi-family market context and putting value enhancement returns to operational decisions was particularly useful, noted Dan Gladden, president of the east region of AMLI Management and president of the Chicagoland Apartment Association’s Board of Directors. “The opportunity to work with (AMLI and SOM) to study the property and asset management issues of the building from the ground up was a great learning experience,” said Lilian Yool, one of the project’s students.
Mid-America Asset Management, Inc. sponsored the third project, which focused on a shopping center located at Howard and Western Avenues in Chicago. Benchmarking operations, market comps, and logistical recommendations highlighted the retail management plan. “ One of our takeaways was understanding the strong management that was in place, and development of a profile for effective retail property management”, said Angelo Demeros, one of the student project leaders.
Students in the program are pursuing the Masters of Science in Real Estate (MSRE), and look to advance careers in real estate finance, investment, development and other real estate industry fields. The students are also eligible to use their management plan experience as part of the application for IREM’s Certified Property Manager.
To learn more about the Roosevelt University program in real estate contact Collete English Dixon, Executive Director, Marshall Bennett Institute of Real Estate at cenglishdixon@roosevelt.edu or visit our webpages at Roosevelt.edu/realestate.
