Among 15 teams of undergraduate students competing, Penn State emerged victorious in the 2025 ICSC & UNC Retail Real Estate Case Competition, held during ICSC LAS VEGAS in May. The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill came in second, and Cornell University and The University of Texas at Austin tied for third.

To create an authentic scenario for the competition, The University of North Carolina Kenan-Flagler Business School’s Wood Center for Real Estate Studies drafted a case study rooted in a real property owned by Edens: Alamo Plaza Shopping Center, east of San Francisco. However, many of the details and parties — including a potential buyer of the property, Bay Capital Holdings — were fictionalized.

Here’s the Scenario

Bay Capital Holdings, or BCH, invests in properties and financial assets to preserve generational wealth. It’s willing to be creative and to hold properties longer, and that means it can compete for long-term value-creation investment plays that many institutional investors wouldn’t chase.

In the fictionalized scenario, BCH’s office is near the 191,000-square-foot Alamo Plaza. In other words, BCH is familiar with the property, and it’s intrigued by the opportunity to create long-term value there. Student teams in the case competition were charged with underwriting that long-term potential on behalf of BCH: to assess “whether there is a better ‘version’ of Alamo Plaza than exists at present.”

The case study laid out: “Because the family office can pledge significant, high-quality existing assets against real estate debt, its longtime banker is willing to lend with the following terms: 75% loan-to-value, up to a 10-year term at an interest rate of 125 [basis points] over the 10-year Treasury rate, which is 4.5% at the time of the analysis. The bank will only lend against a fully entitled development plan. The family office also has significant cash reserves available for making equity investments and to cover soft costs associated with entitlement efforts.”

In the scenario, Alamo Plaza is the only grocery-anchored center in Alamo, but the trade area also encompasses San Ramon, Danville and Walnut Creek. Any “high-end or volume-based retailer” in the four communities avoids opening a second location in another of the four. New development in any of the communities would be costly.

Alamo Plaza has a decent amount of space to fill. Local leasing agents indicate demand for upscale dining. However, parking regulations make permits for such retail difficult. As it stands, only 2,500 square feet of dining can be added at the property.

The case study says residential development is as unlikely as commercial development, and “so long as new residential development remains difficult and older residents stay in their current homes, there is considerable upward pressure on home prices but no general corresponding increase in disposable income. … Retailers might expect sales growth from income growth, but very limited local development means that population growth will likely play a very small role in future retail results.”

• value of Alamo Plaza “as is” with a cap rate of 6.5%
• valuation that would result from a two-year leasing and repositioning plan with a cap rate of 6.5%
• long-term valuation that would result from replacing a drugstore chain with a specialty grocer at a lower rent
• long-term valuation that would result from the addition of a ground lease to a boutique hotel with a full-service restaurant, whether in the drugstore space or elsewhere in the center

The national drugstore tenant is interested in a 10-year renewal with no rent escalation but might file for bankruptcy soon. Competitors were to consider the timelines and costs of lease termination, tenant improvements, entitlements and construction, as well as the impact a hotel ground lease would have on the deal’s cap rate.

“There was definitely a high bar set by all the teams in the case competition this year,” said ICSC senior adviser Valerie Richardson, who served as a judge for the final round of the competition. “We were very impressed with the well-qualified, well-prepared teams in the ‘Final 4.’  The group from Penn State presented an original, creative solution to the case, backed up by solid financial analysis and a professional, collaborative presentation. They answered our questions thoughtfully and showed a strong understanding of the merits of their proposed solution.”

Fellow final-round judge Ivy Greaner, COO of Bedrock, added: “The Penn State team was well versed in retail real estate, knew their numbers and had a very creative approach that went beyond the facts given in the case presented. They were well spoken, interactive and impressive with how well rounded they seemed.”

The Participants

Penn State’s winning team took home $10,000: Liam Buckley, Ethan Snyder, Luke Wagner and Logan Wrigley

UNC Chapel Hill’s second-place team won $6,000: Bo Miltenberger, Ian Podziewski, Jack Shohfi and Peyton Youth

Cornell’s team, which tied for third, won $2,000: Dhruv Jetley, Kaden Liu, Jack McCutchan and Esha Patel

UT Austin’s team, which tied for third, won $2,000: Teva Goldstein, Shamiya Lin, Lucy Ma and Destiny Wang

Additional competitors: The University of Alabama, The University of British Columbia, California State University Northridge, Colorado State University, Indiana University, Marquette University, The University of Mississippi, The University of Tennessee, Texas Christian University, Tulane University and Villanova University

Thanks also to the judges: RD Management’s Michael Carroll, Metro Commercial’s Rod Castan, Chicago TREND’s Tay Craig, First Washington Realty’s Emily Gagliardi, Bedrock’s Ivy Greaner, Peaceable Street Capital’s David Henry, JLL’s Naveen Jaggi, Vestar’s David Larcher, Stirling Properties’ Jimmy Maurin, Chicago TREND’s William McIntosh, Phillips Edison & Co.’s Ran Meng, Citi’s Jared Nutt, Rappaport’s Gary Rappaport, ICSC’s Valerie Richardson, Retail Property Solutions’ Beverly Ricks, Colliers’ Anjee Solanki and Dollar Tree’s Kien Tsoi.

FROM THE ARCHIVE: 2024 ICSC & UNC Retail Real Estate Case Competition

The ICSC Foundation conducts two student case competitions a year: the ICSC & UNC Retail Real Estate Case Competition in May at ICSC LAS VEGAS and the ICSC Foundation Real Estate Challenge in November, which is virtual. For more information on the ICSC Foundation’s programs, click here.