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UDI’s “School of Development” is a highly regarded series of courses that explains the business of real estate development from the industry’s perspective. If you are determined to have a career in this industry, the School is a must! Facilitated by Michael von Hausen of MVH Urban Planning and Design, each School is an intense two-day course that features dynamic industry veterans sharing their expertise through interactive classroom discussions and exercises.

The series is primarily aimed at people who are new to the industry (usually less than 5 years’ experience) or looking for cross-training (e.g. many lawyers have taken ‘The Art of Approvals’ so they can better understand the process and assist their developer clients).

The series has three different modules that can be taken in any order throughout the year:

THE FUNDAMENTALS OF REAL ESTATE DEVELOPMENT

Offered in fall (October/November), learn about the five key components of development:

Land Acquisitions

  • Acquisition process
  • Sourcing and assembling sites
  • Deal structures (approach and negotiations)

Approvals

  • Navigating approvals (civic and council process)
  • Planning due diligence
  • Communication and engagement tools

Financing

  • Types of available financing
  • Basic underwriting (risk and reward)
  • Conditions precedent

Sales & Marketing

  • How to build a sales & marketing strategy
  • Identifying target markets
  • Maximizing sales team effectiveness

Construction

  • Budgets and schedules
  • Drawings, specifications and contracts
  • Cost and quality control

THE NUMBERS BEHIND HOUSING DEVELOPMENT

Offered in spring (February), learn about development pro-forma’s from different perspectives:

Developer

  • Breaking down the performance
  • Evaluating risks and rewards (return metrics)
  • Case study of a multi-family project and pro-forma analysis

Appraiser

  • Value fundamentals
  • Basic “back of envelope” pro-forma
  • Sensitivity analysis

Developer

  • Development process
  • Rental incentives
  • Case study of a purpose-built rental project and pro-forma analysis

Banker

  • Five C’s of credit
  • Common loan types and structures
  • Lender considerations

THE ART OF APPROVALS

Offered in summer (May/June), learn how to guide your projects through the approvals process from different perspectives:

Consultant

  • Approvals process
  • Government regulations and technical requirements
  • Public engagement

Municipal Planner

  • The municipal context
  • Development tools and best practices
  • Public process and policy discretion

Communications Specialist

  • How to identify your story
  • Communication strategy and tools
  • Media do’s and don’ts

Developers

  • Development fees and charges overview
  • Challenges and lessons learned from real case studies

Registration

UDI Members are notified via e-mail when registration opens for School of Development courses. Online registration appears in the events section of the UDI website when registration is active. UDI Members receive priority registration; any remaining spots will be open to Non-Members.

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