Center for Real Estate
Events

At the Ohio State Center for Real Estate, we host a variety of events including networking receptions, panel discussions with industry professionals, student case competitions and conferences. Our goal is to connect the real estate community in central Ohio and offer educational components that keep our constituents up to date on industry trends and forecasts.
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Upcoming Events
Check back soon for new upcoming events!
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Previous Events
February 28, 2023 | Student Information Session with Donald Sheets
Location: The Ohio State University Fisher College of Business; Mason Hall Rotunda (2nd Floor)
Time: 2 - 2:45 p.m.
This event was designed for Ohio State University undergraduate students majoring or minoring in real estate. Throughout the session, the center's new Executive Director, Donald Sheets, 1) gave an overview of the center and how it will be evolving in the future, 2) shared his professional background and how he got into real estate, and 3) discussed how students can become more involved with the Center for Real Estate through mentorship programs, experiential learning, case competitions, events and more.
February 28, 2023 | Top Down or Bottom Up? Macro and Microeconomic Perspectives for 2023
Location: The Ohio State University Faculty Club
Time: 5 - 6:30 p.m. | Fireside conversation 6:30 - 7:30 p.m. | Networking cocktail reception
During this fireside conversation with two leading researchers, each with a unique vantage point, we charted an uncertain path in 2023. Throughout the conversation — moderated by the center’s newly-appointed Executive Director, Donald Sheets — we debated considerations from both a top-down macroeconomic and a bottom-up microeconomic perspective. The intent wasto deepen the discussion beyond anecdotes of the financial press and instead explore unique findings within capital markets, consumer and business sentiment, and other key factors affecting the near-term prognosis of commercial real estate. We were delighted to host two luminaries from Heitman and the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland.
More about our panelists:
Emi Adachi-Fox
Emi Adachi is the Director of North American Research and Co-Head of Global Research Operations at Heitman. She is an equity owner of the firm. Emi researches property market, macroeconomic, and capital market trends and oversees strategy development and underwriting for all North American private equity and debt investments. Emi received a BA with honors in Urban Studies from Stanford University.Lara Loewenstein
Lara Loewenstein is a research economist at the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland. She is an applied microeconomist whose current research focuses on residential and commercial real estate and mortgage markets. Prior to joining the Cleveland Fed, Dr. Loewenstein was a research associate in the research department of the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston. She received her PhD from Brandeis University.Donald Sheets | Moderator
Donald serves a dual appointment as a Senior Lecturer of Finance at the Fisher College of Business and as Executive Director of The Ohio State University Center for Real Estate. Prior to joining Ohio State, he served as Managing Director and member of the Management Committee at Broadshore Capital Partners. Donald has two dozen years of leadership experience on Wall Street across several investment management firms, one of which he founded nearly a decade ago and recently sold. Donald received a BBA magna cum laude from The George Washington University and received an MBA from Harvard Business School.February 9, 2023 | Fisher Real Estate Society (FRES) Young Alumni Networking Event
Sponsored by Crawford Hoying
Location: Moxy Bar | 800 N. High St. Columbus, 2nd Floor
Time: 6 - 8 p.m.
Are you a Fisher College of Business real estate alum, having graduated in 2012 or after? Fisher Real Estate Society is hosted a networking event, sponsored by Crawford Hoying, where young alumni had the opportunity to network with each other and current real estate students. The event served as an opportunity to expand professional networks, share experiences with students looking to break into the real estate industry post-graduation, and meet Donald Sheets, the center's new executive director.
January 18, 2022 | Breakfast Series: Real Estate - Is it an Inflation Hedge?
Location: Mason Hall Rotunda
Time: 8 - 9 a.m.
Historically, real estate has been seen as a hedge on inflation. The U.S. has not seen an extended period of high inflation for more than 40 years. Are real estate sectors truly holding up in this macroeconomic environment?
Our panel of industry experts discussed how each of the real estate sectors - industrial, office, multifamily, retail and hotel - are performing in what is a new environment for most real estate investors today.
In addition, attendees had the chance to meet the center's new Executive Director, Donald Sheets, who shared an update on the center reboot and his vision for the future.Panelists included:
Grant Chaney | Executive Vice President, Retail Services Group, Colliers
Paul Ghidotti | Principal and Member Management, Daimler
Adrian Hamilton (Moderator) | White Oak Revenue Management Team, White Oak Partners
Spencer Jordan | Senior Vice President, Retail Real Estate, Steiner & Associates
Melanie Mayo | Partner and Chief of Development and Diligence, White Oak Partners
Ben Pierson | Managing Director of Investment & Development Group, Rockbridge
Raif Webster | Vice President of Development Services, Columbus office of VanTrust
December 1, 2022 | Student Seminar featuring Spencer Levy
Location: Mason Hall Rotunda
Time: 1:00 p.m.
Students joined a seminar with Spencer Levy to learn about his career journey and ask questions about job searching, leadership and the real estate industry in general.
Spencer Levy is Global Client Strategist and Senior Economic Advisor for CBRE, the largest commercial real estate services firm in the world. In this role, he focuses on client engagement and public-facing activities, including thought leadership work performed in conjunction with CBRE Research. He also serves as Co-Chair of the Real Estate Roundtable’s Research Committee.
Continue reading Spencer's bio here.
October 11, 2022 | Fall 2022 Real Estate Career Fair
Location: The Blackwell Ballroom
Time: 2:00 - 4:00 p.m.
The Annual Real Estate Career Fair is an exciting opportunity for our students to connect with potential employers and learn more about career opportunities that exist within the industry. Over 30 companies joined our Fall 2022 Career Fair and we had an excellent student turnout.
September 15, 2022 | "Breakfast" Series: Multi-family Housing in a Raising Rate Environment
Location: Mason Hall Rotunda
Time: 7:30 - 9:00 a.m. (7:30 - 8:00 a.m. networking)
The Center for Real Estate hosted a panel of multifamily experts engaged as ground-up developers, debt providers and equity owners. They discussed their current view of the multifamily market, how inflation and the corresponding rising interest rates have affected the multifamily sector and how they have adjusted their strategies in an economic environment that has not been seen for 40+ years.
Craig Foreman | Vice President, Financing at PGIM Real Estate
Mike Frazaetta | Chief Financial Offer, TGM Associates L.P.
Jon Lindell | Executive Vice President, Heitman Real Estate Debt Group
Sam Miller | Senior Vice President and Principal at Bellwether Enterprise
Ben Slad | Senior Vice President of Investments, The Laramar Group
Matt Starr | Executive Vice President of Commercial Real Estate and Leasing, Crawford Hoying
April 15, 2022 | "Breakfast" Series: Central Ohio Housing: Challenges and Opportunities
Location: Mason Hall Rotunda
Time: 8:00 - 9:00 am (doors open at 7:30 am)
During our first in-person event in over two years, we discussed the challenges Central Ohioans face around housing in our rapidly growing region. Questions that we addressed include: Is there sufficient supply to meet demand? Who is being left out? What programs are in place to address this? Our panel of regional experts discussed where we stand as a community and where there are opportunities for improvement.
Panelists:
Erin Prosser (moderator) | Assistant Director of Housing Strategies, City of Columbus
Lark Mallory | President & CEO, Affordable Housing Trust for Columbus and Franklin County
Leah F. Evans | President & CEO, Homeport
Robert Schottenstein | Chairman of the Board, CEO & President, M/I Homes, Inc.
Hope Paxson | VP of Programs & Housing, COCIC: Franklin County Land BankMarch 31, 2022 | Women in Real Estate Dinner
February 23, 2022 | "Breakfast" Series: PropTech
Property technology (PropTech) is the application of information technology and platform economics to real estate markets. Join us as we discuss how the use of technology is changing the field of real estate. What are some ideas that are changing how property is bought, sold, leased, or managed? How do entrepreneurs turn ideas into viable companies? Where do investors see opportunities? What do investors and entrepreneurs look for in a partner?
Time: 12:00 pm EST via Zoom
Panelists:
Aaron Block | Managing Partner of MetaProp
Giri Devanur | Founder and CEO of reAlpha
Kyle Waldrep | Founder and CEO of Dottid
November 30, 2021 | View from the C-Suite
Panelist:
Lynn Thurber, former Chairman and CEO of LaSalle Investment Management
November 10, 2021 | "Breakfast" Series: Economic Outlook
Listen in to hear Dr. Zahi Ben-David and Neil Bhutta discuss the current housing market and what has driven the recent housing boom. They also discuss what the future of the housing market could look like based on trends we're seeing.
Panelists:
Dr. Itzhak (Zahi) Ben-David | Center for Real Estate Academic Director
Neil Bhutta | Chief of the Real Estate Finance Section at the Federal Reserve Board.
September 15th, 2021 | Real Estate Career Fair
September 14, 2021 | Environmental, Social and Governance Programs in Today's World
On this webinar, our panel discussed how investors, real estate firms, insurance companies and lenders are integrating each component of ESG: Environmental, Social and Governance. Given the proven link between investor returns and a company’s focus upon ESG, how should companies prioritize and implement an ESG program? What resources are there for firms that are new to the process? How can a vibrant ESG program mitigate risks, both reputational and financial?
Panelists:
Christy Hill | Managing Director at PGIM Real Estate and the head of Americas Asset Management.
Sara Anzinger | Senior Vice President of Capital Markets at Measurabl
Alex Symes | Director, is a member of the Global Real Assets Research team for BlackRock
June 8, 2021 | Returning to the Workplace Post-Pandemic
Learn how large multinational companies are managing their back to the workplace process. Have expectations of employers changed? What about expectations of their most valuable resource – their people? How will this affect demand for office space and rents? What are the implications for Central Ohio and beyond? What are the impacts on both the global and local workforce?
Panelists:
Jeri Ballard
Executive Vice President of Real Estate, Business Operations Centres, and Corporate Travel
Royal Dutch ShellMichael Patrick Davidson
Managing Director
Head of Corporate Real Estate
JP Morgan Chase & Co.April 15-16, 2021 | PhD Conference on Real Estate and Housing
Please see the conference website for the 2021 program highlights.
April 7, 2021 | "Breakfast" Series
Opportunities and Challenges in Commercial Real Estate Lending
Panelists:
Rex Rudy | US Bank
Peter Morral | Granite Point Mortgage Trust
Christina Doh | Silverstein Capital Partners
Mark Williams | Eastdil Secured
March 23, 2021 | View from the C-Suite with Marion McFadden
Senior Vice President, Public Policy & Senior Advisor, Resilience | Enterprise
February 10, 2021 | Real Estate & the Road Ahead
In early 2020, the global pandemic sent millions of employees to work from home, boosted eCommerce as crowded storefronts became less safe, and caused supply chain issues that continue to this day. Now that there is hope inspired by a vaccine rollout and a possible end in sight, what does the future of commercial real estate look like?
This period of immense change has brought many questions. Will companies need more office space to accommodate social distancing, or less space due to preferences for a permanent work from home economy? Will demand for warehouse space continue to grow to account for uncertain inventory demands, or will businesses return to just-in-time efficiencies? Which areas of retail will regain their footing, and which will never recover? Listen to this webinar, co-hosted by The Center for Operational Excellence and The Center for Real Estate, to hear more about the post-pandemic real estate landscape and the implications for all of us.
Panelists include Yaromir Steiner, CEO, Steiner & Associates; Matt Wersel, Managing Partner, Mohr Partners; Carl Deluca, Head of Real Estate, Americas, DHL.January 21, 2021 | Hospitality in the Time of Covid-19
The COVID-19 pandemic has created the most difficult situation in memory for hotel owners and operators. What is the path forward from here? Will occupancies return to their prior numbers, and if so, when?
Listen on to hear our panel of experts discuss where they see reasons for optimism, and where they continue to be cautious.Panelists:
Kevin Mallory | Senior Managing Director and Global Head for Hotels | CBRE
Noah Silverman | Chief Development Officer | North America Full Service Hotels for Marriott International Inc.
Jim Merkel | Chief Executive Officer | Rockbridge
Barry Bloom | President and Chief Operating Officer | Xenia Hotels & Resorts, Inc.
December 1, 2020 | "Breakfast" Series: Economic Outlook
Professor Itzhak (“Zahi”) Ben-David, the Neil Klatskin Chair in Finance and Real Estate at The Ohio State University Fisher College of Business, was joined by Dr. Gene Amromin, Vice President and Director of Financial Research at the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago for a discussion on the post-election economy.
November 17, 2020 | Housing and Healthcare
The intersection of Healthcare and Housing is an exciting and growing space in both the healthcare sector and the multifamily housing industry. Healthcare institutions across the country have come to understand that housing is a critical social determinant of health and that a growing body of research shows that access to safe, quality, and affordable housing can have significant positive impacts on a person’s health. Further, as place-based anchor institutions, healthcare systems have a direct interest in the both the physical and economic health of the communities that they serve. In turn, housing developers across the country are increasingly partnering with healthcare providers and healthcare insurers to develop mixed-use and mixed-income housing projects that that create a positive impact for entire neighborhoods. The NRP Group’s Aaron Pechota has developed more than 3,500 housing units over 15 years and has spearheaded NRP’s partnerships with multiple large healthcare institutions; Amy Riegel leads CareSource’s efforts to create innovative and sustainable approaches to integrating health and housing and focuses on building collaborative partnerships to address social determinants of health, Angela Mingo is the Community Relations Director at Nationwide Children’s and has been instrumental in Nationwide’s approach to neighborhood revitalization efforts on the south side of Columbus; and Sheldon Johnson is both the Vice President of Community Development at Community Building Partners and was selected to participate in Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s Culture of Health Leaders – an initiative to for young leaders who want to make their communities more healthy and equitable. This panel will discuss how health and housing are connected and share how their organizations are developing, financing, and working with communities to develop housing that can help make communities healthier, both in Columbus and across Ohio.
October 29, 2020 | View from the C-Suite with David Adelman
For this iteration of the Center's View From the C-Suite series, Mary Beth was joined by David Adelman, CEO of Campus Apartments.
Mary Beth and David discuss topics including: his history in the real estate field, how he was able to grow Campus Apartments to its current size, and how he developed a strong company culture. David also discusses how COVID-19 has affected the student housing market and the most difficult aspects of being a CEO. David finishes by giving his best advice to students and graduates wanting to succeed in the world of real estate.
October 6, 2020 | Webinar: Returning to Work in the Times of COVID-19
The Center for Real Estate and The Risk Institute invite you to join us for a wide ranging discussion on what companies are doing to keep employers and employees safe as they return to the office. In addition, we will discuss how COVID-19 is impacting real estate needs, working from home, and other business disruptions. As companies work through the global COVID-19 pandemic, coupled with the expansion of digital commerce, and the increase in work from home model proving to be successful; how much longer will large office spaces be needed and what does a company do with one they no longer need. This webinar will feature experts in the real estate field that are helping companies develop new tools, processes and alternative approaches to adjust. Now more than ever, it is critical to have a plan in place to prevent any economic uncertainty.
Speakers include:
Norman Bertke
National Director of Operations for CBRE’s
Global Workplace Solutions (GWS) Local business
CBRE
-- Norman's Powerpoint Slides
Tim Spencer
Chief Financial Officer
Safelite
John Mark Tichar
Vice President, Sales Leader
Oswald CompaniesClick here to watch the webinar recording
September 24, 2020 | Virtual Real Estate Career Fair
September 15, 2020 | "Breakfast" Series Webinar: Real Estate Investing Today- Risks and Opportunities
We were joined by a panel of global private equity investors and institutional advisors for a wide ranging discussion on the current outlook for the US and Global Real Estate markets.
Our panel included:
Moderator
Jennifer Stevens, Co-Founder and Managing Partner, Alliance Global AdvisorsPanelists
Chris Merrill, Co-Founder, Chairman and CEO, Harrison StreetSean Harris, SVP of Acquisitions, Starwood Capital Group
Christian Nye, Associate, The Townsend Group
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Donald Sheets
Executive Director
241 Mason Hall | 250 W Woodruff Avenue | Columbus, OH 43210
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2100 Neil Avenue, Columbus, Ohio 43210