This is a sponsored event by the Harvard Graduate School of Design Executive Education.

This short program is an excellent introduction to real estate development for entrepreneurs just starting in the business or joining an existing real estate development team, and also provides a valuable opportunity for professionals adjacent to the real estate development business (e.g., architects, planners, engineers, lawyers, contractors, property managers, brokers, lenders, investors, and public regulators) to enhance their understanding of real estate development. During the program, we will cover the primary steps in the real estate development process, using examples from many asset types and discussing principles applicable to real estate development all over the world.

Expect a lively and engaging interactive virtual experience! We will focus on the role of the real estate developer and the primary stages and steps in the real estate development process, including: identifying development opportunities; defining financial objectives and the development program; preparing project schedules and budgets; undertaking feasibility studies incorporating zoning, environmental, design, market, and financial factors; evaluating risks and rewards and defining risk management strategies; defining site selection criteria and gaining site control; negotiating required entitlements; assembling and managing the development team; creating the appropriate legal ownership entity structure; securing debt and equity financing; managing the design and construction process; marketing the asset; and managing the completed asset, including both property management and asset management.

This "nuts-and-bolts" program introduces potential entrepreneurs to real estate development and helps new members of established development teams understand how real estate development fundamentals relate to their primary design, engineering, construction, legal, permitting, financing, marketing, or property management roles as members of a real estate development team. The program is also valuable to intermediaries in the real estate development process including public officials responsible for reviewing, approving, and/or monitoring proposed real estate projects, particularly public-private partnership (PPP) projects.

We will present critical real estate development principles and practices in a simple, understandable, and interactive manner that will demystify the real estate development process regardless of participants' prior level of real estate development experience. Varied asset types (residential, office, retail, hospitality, industrial and mixed-use) will be referenced to illustrate critical development principles. We will also discuss the skill, personality and style characteristics often shared by successful real estate developers.

Instructor

Edward Marchant
Lecturer in Urban Planning and Design, Harvard University Graduate School of Design
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