Master of Science in Land Development students
craft lease proposals with help from industry pros

Students in Texas A&M’s Master of Science in Land Development program refined their skills for careers in the property industry this summer by visiting three of the Houston area’s newest and most notable mixed-use developments, then worked with the developers to craft leasing proposals for a mythical social networking business.

During visits to Houston’s Citycentre, Sugar Land Town Square and Waterway Square in The Woodlands, students received advice on creating  proposals from Jonathan Brinsden ’91, Dan Janssen and Dan Leverett ’80, ’88, who, led their companies’ development efforts at the three respective sites.

The student teams presented their proposals June 30 during a final class session attended by their professional advisors. Another student group representing “Friendface,” the mythical social networking business, performed a comparative analysis of the submissions and selected the best recommendation.

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“Students in the class sharpened their core knowledge and competencies through working relationships with three of Houston’s real estate industry leaders,” said Geoffrey Booth, MSLD coordinator. “They also had an opportunity to significantly strengthen their professional networks.”

Other course objectives included:

• Gaining a practical knowledge of how the development industry works;
• Developing and analyzing leasing submissions, understanding lease provisions and their impact on real estate asset financial return and performance;
• Modeling and understanding the financial anatomy of the real estate deal; and
• Developing leadership skills, effective team contribution, and ability to effectively distill, communicate, and apply real estate knowledge.

Brinsden is chief operating officer of Midway Companies and chairman of the Urban Land Institute in Houston and San Antonio, advised one of the student groups. He holds an MSLD degree from Texas A&M and leads Midway’s development of Citycentre, a 37-acre, mixed-use, pedestrian-friendly development in Houston’s Memorial Village area.

Dan Janssen, senior vice president of Planned Community Developers, advised another group. Janssen led his company’s development of Sugar Land Town Square, a mixed-use project that includes city hall, mid-rise and high-rise condominiums, 566,000 square feet of office space and 238,000 square feet of main street-style retail.

Leverett, vice president of the commercial division of The Woodlands Development Company, has profit and loss responsibility for commercial operations of The Woodlands Waterway and its other holdings. He holds civil engineering and Master of Business Administration degrees from Texas A&M.

Contact:   Phillip Rollfing, prollfing@archone.tamu.edu or 979.458.0442.