This year’s development site for the 20th Anniversary of the NAIOP Colorado Rocky Mountain Real Estate Challenge will be a 25-acre parcel within Peak Innovation Park, a 900-acre master development located at the entrance to the Colorado Springs Airport.
The Challenge, sponsored by Urban Frontier, the Colorado Springs Airport and Flywheel Capital, is the premier real estate competition that pairs graduate-level students from the University of Colorado and the University of Denver with industry leaders in the Colorado real estate community to evaluate development opportunities.
As the largest master-planned development in Colorado Springs, Peak Innovation Park will cater to office, industrial, retail, entertainment, recreation, and hospitality uses in a city with some of the most sought-after zip codes to buy a home in the country.
“With almost 90% of jobs lost during COVID already recovered and an average 1.17% population growth, above the national average of 0.5%, Colorado Springs is beginning to catch the attention of outside investors,” said Garrett Baum, managing director of Urban Frontier LLC, the master developer working with the Colorado Springs Airport to develop Peak Innovation Park. “Our comprehensive project team believes that sponsoring the NAIOP Real Estate Challenge, in support of the participating university students and programs, will greatly assist in gaining significant visibility to this area and the creation of development plans that are driven by both our vision and market dynamics.”
Student teams will work with industry professionals and project sponsor representatives for four months, to analyze every aspect of the site. The student teams are tasked with presenting a feasible, integrated development plan that promotes the best and most sustainable use of the site while creating a place where visitors and residents can work, play, and have an abundance of dining and entertainment options. The student teams compete against one another for scholarships and the NAIOP Cup, which is awarded to the winning school each year.
The Challenge’ culminates with the largest real estate event in Colorado on May 3, 2022, where student finalists present their recommendations to the Project Sponsor Team and an audience of real estate professionals. The 2022 final competition will be held at the Sheraton Denver Downtown Hotel. More details regarding ticket sales for the event will be announced in February via NAIOP.
“We are very excited about the opportunity to highlight Colorado Springs for the 20th Anniversary of the Rocky Mountain Real Estate Challenge,” said Luke Cannon, chairman of the 2022 NAIOP organizing committee. “This will be the first competition site located in the Springs which poses new challenges and opportunities for our student competitors to work through. It’s an energetic market with strong job growth making it one of the most desirable places to live in the country and I believe we may highlight more development sites here in the future.”
