Texas Real Estate Business • September 2022

www.REBusinessOnline.com September 2022 • Volume 18, Issue 7 ACADEMIC PROGRAMS, INTERNSHIPS SIMULATE THE REAL DEAL By Taylor Williams Analysis of real-time data and market conditions, as well as instruction from active industry professionals, ensures that graduates hit the ground running. A s the volume of commercial real estate demand, deals and devel-opment skyrockets throughout Texas, the industry is working to cu-rate the talented workforce needed to sustain growth, with an emphasis on short-circuiting the gap between edu-cation and application. As with any business, understand-ing the historic principles, ethics and philosophies that govern how com-mercial real estate is practiced can aug-ment anyone’s career. In addition, it doesn’t hurt to possess certain person-ality traits — articulation, sociability, self-motivation — that have long been associated with commercial real estate "types." But according to professors within real estate programs at some of the state’s prominent academic institu-tions, simulating actual work experi-ence at the grassroots level is what real-ly allows students and interns to thrive early in their careers. Just as important, the industry professionals who hire and train these individuals tend to sup-port this approach. UT Austin At the University of Texas at Austin (UT), real estate is not a formal major that students can declare, but rather a concentration within the ﬁ nance pro-gram in which both undergrad and graduate students can specialize. The program typically includes 100 to 150 undergrads and 15 to 20 graduate stu-dents pursuing a Masters of Business Administration (MBA) degree. Against that backdrop, much of the coursework is rooted in real-time capi-tal markets analysis and deal execution. This occurs via live investment funds that are subscribed with real capital dol-lars for deployment — money that is raised from university donors and es-tablished industry professionals. Over the semester, students work to generate alpha, or overall returns that exceed a given industry index or bench-mark, within funds that are backed by the two biggest forms of institutional capital: private equity and REITs. “Because real estate is a minor, the undergrads are juniors and seniors, and the MBAs are really experienced,” says SEE ACADEMICS page 28 HOW TO DESIGN 'LIVE-WORK-PLAY' PROJECTS The process is all about simplifying development at a time when savings are at a premium. By Nicholas Haines of Bromley Cos. he desire to live close to everyday retail destinations — grocery stores, restaurants, gyms — isn’t new. But demand for this type of amenity has be-come increasingly popular with the rise of mixed-use developments. Think about when you go on vacation. You pick a hotel or rental property that’s close to activities you want to do, sights you want to see or places you want to eat. Now, people are beginning to crave that same convenience in everyday life — and it makes sense. While the pandemic blurred the lines T between living, working and playing, demand for rental communities that in-clude residential, ofﬁ ce and retail space has risen throughout the United States over the past decade. These units, also known as live-work-play (LWP) apart-ments, have seen a substantial increase in interest, especially among millenni-als. Walkability is one of the primary traits that millennials seek when they’re searching for residential options. Against that backdrop, we have found that LWP apartments present a unique Pictured is a streetscape rendering of Dallas Gateway, a newly announced mixed-use project by Atlanta-based Portman Holdings. The development currently calls for 850 apartments, 400,000 square feet of ofﬁ ce space and 45,000 square feet of retail and restaurant space. SEE MIXED-USE page 30 INSIDE THIS ISSUE Texas Real Estate Business ' Annual Economic Development Directory pages 18-24 Construction Activity Picks Back Up in Houston Retail Market page 26