January kicked off with the start of the 14th Annual Pacific Northwest Real Estate Challenge. This annual event was hosted by NAIOP’s Vancouver Chapter and marked the first time in history that this competition has been held on Canadian soil.

About the Pacific Northwest Real Estate Challenge

The Pacific Northwest Real Estate Challenge has teams consisting of real estate program students from various Northwest universities competing for the best design of a high profile development in a major metropolitan area.

Each team must design and propose a development and strategy that may be implemented after the competition.

This year, TransLink partnered with NAIOP to have students propose plans for Coquitlam Central Station on the Evergreen Extension, a 14-acre project with a high volume of transit, residents and commuters.

On March 9th, less than eight weeks from the first site visit, teams presented their final development to a panel of judges, TransLink officials, and members of the commercial real estate industry.

The home team from UBC finished ahead of University of Washington and Portland State, winning the NAIOP Bob Filley Cup and the potential opportunity to have their plan implemented by TransLink.

“It was a difficult decision to make, as we were very impressed with all of the proposals from the students,” said Guy Akester, Director of Real Estate Programs & Partnerships at TransLink. “Coquitlam Central Station is a very important and critical transportation hub. Ultimately we were looking for a highly walkable, mixed-use site that brings the community together. The UBC students were able to deliver this on all fronts.”