As part of a one-credit graduate Real Estate course at the Wisconsin School of Business, 18 graduate real estate students traveled to New York City last week to immerse themselves in the Big Apple’s dynamic and complex real estate markets. Led by Associate Directors Greg Reed and Paul Aylesworth, the three-day field trip was packed with activities, including the unique opportunity for students to tour some of the highest-valued and most iconic real estate in Manhattan, and gain an insider’s view on the market.
On January 16th, the students hit the chilly streets of midtown Manhattan for a walking tour which included famous locations such as Hudson Yards, Chelsea Market and Rockefeller Center. In the afternoon, Laura Vulaj, Senior Vice President at SL Green, led the group on a tour of One Vanderbilt, a 73-story supertall skyscraper built with a unique design that is intended to harmonize with Grand Central Terminal immediately to the east. The views were amazing!
While touring the building’s mechanical floors, One Vanderbilt employees emphasized the importance of physical facilities for sustainability and creating positive work environments for building users. Following the tour by SL Green, students met with Keith Pattiz and Elias Eliopoulos, partners at McDermott Will & Emery, who offered insights on the importance of building long-term relationships to success in the real estate industry, as well as their perspective on recent trends in the New York market.
The next day, students toured the top floors of Three World Trade Center and heard a detailed account of Silverstein Properties’ redevelopment process for the World Trade Center from Mike Marcucci, Producer and Media Consultant for Silverstein Properties. This tour was followed by a memorable visit to the 9/11 Memorial and Museum.
The group was then welcomed by the Moody’s Real Estate Credit Team, organized by Keith Banhazl, Managing Director and head of US CRE Finance at Moody’s. Students learned the basics on how the credit rating industry functions, and a panel of recent graduates offered their perspective on credit analysis as early-career professionals.
On the last day of the field trip, Wisconsin Real Estate Alumni Association Northeast Regional Director Kendra Stensven (BBA ‘00) joined the group and led a tour of the Essex Crossing development, a joint venture between L+M Development, Taconic Investment Partners, and BFC Partners. David Dishy, CEO of LMXD, and Emily Astrof-Bernstein of L+M Development, shared details about the redevelopment of the Lower East Side and the challenges of mixed-use development, navigating a multi-party ownership structure, and maintaining a vision through changes in municipal political leadership. After the visit to Essex Crossing, the group went to the Lower East Side Tenement Museum to learn about the conditions of immigrant families in New York.
Next up was a visit to Nuveen Real Estate, where Charlotte Du (MBA ‘19) arranged a fantastic panel of senior leaders in investment across Nuveen’s asset types. This panel was immediately followed by a WREAA-sponsored panel discussion which was moderated Brian Tilton (BBA ‘00), Managing Director at Nuveen Real Estate. Panelists discussed their 2024 investment outlooks, macro views, investment trends, asset valuations, and sector interests across real estate debt and equity.
After the panels, the group convened for fun and engaging networking reception for students and alums at Rosie Dunn’s, sponsored by Nuveen. Reflecting on the event, Jim Callahan (MSRE ‘24) said, “The Nuveen panel was an amazing way to cap a very insightful trip to NYC. Listening to accomplished professionals is not only motivating and exciting, but the best way to learn how established companies are navigating today’s treacherous market.”
We are grateful to Greg Reed, Associate Director of the Graaskamp Center for Real Estate, for organizing this fantastic field trip and a big thank you to Greg and Paul Aylesworth, Associate Director of the MS in Real Estate, for leading the trip.
Thank You to Our Alumni, Board Members and Friends!
All of us at the Graaskamp Center, especially the graduate students, are grateful to the following alumni, board members and friends for helping us plan and implement the fun and engaging learning opportunities on this awesome New York City field trip:
- Emily Astrof-Bernstein, General Manager, C+C Management / L+M Development
- Keith Banhazl, Managing Director, Head of US Commercial Real Estate Finance, Moody’s Investors Service
- David Dishy, CEO, LMDX
- Charlotte Du, Senior Associate of Alternatives & Strategic Transactions, Nuveen
- Elias Eliopoulos, Partner, McDermott Will & Emery, LLP
- Mike Marcucci, Video Producer and Media Consultant, Silverstein Properties, Inc
- Keith Pattiz, Partner, McDermott Will & Emery, LLP
- Mark Schneider, Associate of Asset Management, Arch Street Capital Advisors
- Kendra Stensven, Owner, Fresh Coast Real Estate Development
- Brian Tilton, Managing Director, Portfolio Manager of US Cities Industrial Fund, Nuveen
- Laura Vulaj, Senior Vice President of Hospitality and Sustainability, SL Green Realty Corp.
- Marc Warren, Principal, Ackman-Ziff Real Estate Group, LLC
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