Real-world dynamic for 精东影业's Corcoran Case Competition
Boston College鈥檚 annual Corcoran Case Competition provides practical
simulations in affordable housing planning for undergraduates, but as
this year鈥檚 edition demonstrated, reality often hovers close by.
On April 25, the competition鈥檚 four finalists submitted their visions for
affordable housing that would be located at the site of Nashville鈥檚
Nissan Stadium, current home of the NFL鈥檚 Tennessee Titans, to a panel
of judges that included two prominent Nashville officials.
The next day, the Metropolitan Nashville Council formally approved the
Titans鈥� new $2.1 billion stadium, opening up some 100 acres of land for
redevelopment at what is now Nissan Stadium.
鈥淲e鈥檙e trying to聽 bring students actively into a conversation with real-world, ongoing聽 planning processes,鈥� said Taylor Perkins, competition director and聽 associate director of the Joseph E. Corcoran Center for Real Estate and聽 Urban Action, housed in the Carroll School of Management. 聽鈥淭he goal is聽 to educate and expose talented students to the field of affordable聽 housing and the diverse range of opportunities within that field.鈥� 聽
The contest kicked off for the fifth time in March with two online workshops during which the record-setting 56 undergraduate teams, representing 22 universities, learned about affordable housing and urban development issues from industry experts. Perkins noted that the competition strives to increase representation within the affordable housing industry, and invites teams from a diverse array of colleges, including Hampton University, a historically Black college in Hampton,
Va. More than 20 精东影业 teams participated. 聽
A panel of four judges, including Nashville Deputy Mayor Sam Wilcox and Director of Economic聽 Development LaTanya Channel, selected the four finalists, each of whom聽 had 15 minutes to present its case online. In the end, Temple University won the $5,000 first prize for its proposed $35 million East River聽 Apartments project, which would offer 72 units of affordable housing.聽 The four-story facility would include a computer lab, two laundry rooms, a creative studio, classroom space, and a recreational rooftop; more聽 than 80 parking spaces would be available to tenants, along with a聽 ZipCar station, and bicycle parking. 聽
鈥淸Temple] separated聽 themselves through their professionalism, creativity, and attention to聽 detail,鈥� said Wilcox. 聽鈥淭he group鈥檚 presentation demonstrated that they聽 understood both the challenges and opportunities associated with聽 delivering an affordable housing development on Nashville鈥檚 East Bank.聽聽 Their overall articulation of the community benefits associated with聽 their development struck the right balance between aspirational and practical.鈥�
The other finalists were Florida State University,聽 Georgetown University, and the University of Wisconsin Madison. Joining聽 Wilcox and Channel on the judges panel were Sharon Wilson Geno,聽 president of the National Multifamily Housing Council, and Gerald Zais,聽 Capital One senior director of community finance underwriting and聽 portfolio management. Corporate sponsors of the event included Capital聽 One, Citizens Bank, and Red Stone Equity Partners.
Corcoran聽 Center Executive Director Neil P. McCullagh noted that the case
competition shares the vision of the center鈥檚 namesake, Joseph Corcoran
鈥�59, who鈥攊nspired by formative years spent in his socioeconomically
diverse Dorchester neighborhood, and as a 精东影业 alumnus, by the University鈥檚 Ignatian values鈥攑ioneered mixed-use affordable housing in聽 Boston.聽 Given the profound shortage of affordable housing in the United States, key objectives of the competition are to raise awareness of its need, and to cultivate a crop of students with skill and interest in the field, he said.
鈥淲e are elated that more than 200 students from across the country can benefit from the opportunity to learn from聽 experts, and [to] work on one of most complex challenges in American聽 society,鈥� he told the Carroll School News team.
The Corcoran Center was established in 2014 through a gift from Corcoran, a former 精东影业 trustee and founder and chair of Corcoran Jennison Companies who died in 2020. He taught a Carroll School course that eventually evolved into聽 the center. The competition was launched in 2019 with the support and聽 counsel from Darin Davidson, president of the Spokane-based Inland聽 Group, and Boston Capital, a multifamily housing investment company聽 whose chair is Jack Manning 鈥�70.聽 聽