2007 Community Real Estate Program at USF [09/04/2007]

by Denise O'Brien

Program participants are busy fine-tuning their community real estate development projects for presentation on September 18, 2007. The Rev. Dr. Thomas Scott, Tampa City Councilman, will be the keynote speaker.

In April of this year, the USF Collaborative launched a USF Certificate Program in Community Real Estate Development in cooperation with the City of Tampa and Hillsborough County. The purpose of the program was to educate local community partners who are committed to undertaking catalytic development projects in underserved neighborhood market areas.

The current class is a diverse group of students that includes City of Tampa & Hillsborough County staff, bank CRA staff, senior staff of area community development corporations (CDCs) and private developers.

Throughout the 16-day, four-module certification program, participants learned how to use public and private resources, as well as develop or fine tune their skills in real estate development, finance and project management. The student teams presented their projects to a panel of community development experts on July 31, who provided feedback based on their unique community development practitioner perspective, as if the projects were presented in real life for funding. Three presentations have been fine-tuned based on the feedback received on July 31st and will be showcased on September 18th, the final day of the program. Councilman Rev. Dr. Thomas Scott will attend the presentations and give a luncheon address.

For further information about the CRED Program, please contact Denise O’Brien at obrien@usfcollab.usf.edu or call (813) 974-7318.

The USF Collaborative is a recognized central point of contact, facilitator and matchmaker for new partnerships between University faculty and students, nationally known researchers, local government, service organizations and professionals to build a better Tampa Bay community. For more information about the Collaborative and its programs, visit http://www.usfcollab.usf.edu or contact the Collaborative director, Judi Jetson, at 813-974-7318, or Jetson@usfcollab.usf.edu.