And The Competition Is On

Rob Namy and Chris Grobelny, two of Weston’s rainmakers, have volunteered to consult a group of students competing in The ULI Gerald D. Hines Student Urban Design Competition. Now in its 12^th year, this program offers graduate-level students the opportunity to form multidisciplinary teams and engage in a challenging exercise in responsible land use. Given a two week deadline, the teams of five students each from many different schools across the country are charged with designing a development plan for a real, large-scale site full of challenges. Cleveland, OH, in particular, was represented by 5 teams through a coalition between Case Western Reserve University, Kent State, and Cleveland State University. This year, the students will design a development around the adjacent properties surrounding the chosen location for the Nashville Sounds Baseball Stadium in Downtown Nashville, TN. Large format presentation boards are created that include drawings, site plans, tables, and market-feasible financial data. Although ideas are submitted without any future expectation of idea acceptance, each team does compete for the final prize of $50,000 ($5,000 of which goes to their school) and four teams make it to the finals and receive $10,000 each. ULI’s goal is to raise awareness and interest among our future leaders in forming better communities, improving development patterns, and the need for multidisciplinary solutions to development and design challenges. Rob and Chris have advised students in the past with last year’s team receiving an Honorable Mention. Let’s root for them to bring home a winner again this year.