SBA Takes First Place in 2015 ARGUS Software University Challenge

The Burnham-Moores Center for Real Estate, within the School of Business Administration (SBA) at the University of San Diego (USD), announced today that its team of five Master of Science in Real Estate (MSRE) students were once again awarded first place in the 2015 ARGUS Software University Challenge, winning over18 other schools.

This is the fourth time SBA placed first since the competition began in 2009; SBA placed second in 2012 and 2013.

The 2015 MSRE team included: Eddie Allen, Luc Dreifuss, Lori Malins, Mike Vielma and Clarence Wong, and was supported by the faculty and staff of the Burnham-Moores Center for Real Estate. Charles Tu, Daniel F. Mulvihill Professor of Commercial Real Estate, served as the faculty adviser.

“The talent our students showcased in this competition was impressive,” said Tu. “The MSRE program’s continuing success in the event demonstrates that our curriculum helps students develop not only strong analytical and technical skills, but also strategic thinking and problem-solving abilities.”

The ARGUS Software University Challenge is an international case competition, among graduate real estate programs, that gives students the unique opportunity to analyze comprehensive and complicated real estate issues. This year’s ARGUS competition theme was “Think Green 2015.” Teams analyzed a mixed-use property located in Greenville, a fictitious downtown district that had been on the upswing for the past few years. The USD team evaluated the alternatives given in the case and formulated additional strategies to maximize the investment’s potential. Their analysis covered various topics such as renovation and reposition, transit-oriented development and sustainability. ARGUS Enterprise was used to model, plan and optimize the investment scenarios to support the team’s recommendations.

“Working with this year’s group was a truly unique experience,” said Allen. “Each of us, with our varying backgrounds, was able to bring our own ideas to the table to create what we considered was the best use of property. It was a pleasure competing in this year’s ARGUS competition and more importantly defending our title and keeping the trophy in the BMC family for one more year.”

“ARGUS was one of the most challenging projects I've worked on through the MSRE program,” said Malins. “It required us to work together as a team to be creative with our strategy and execute our detailed analysis and market research. It was a rewarding experience and I'm proud to carry on our national title.”

The USD team was awarded $8,000 for their first place win.