Adaptive Reuse: 1200 5th Ave | NAIOP 2024 Challenge
Location: Seattle, WA
Type: Mixed-Use Redevelopment
Timeline: January – March 2024
Team: Alex Wilson, Mehak Agarwal, Vivek Sharma, Sterling Wagner, Jolin Fang, Austin Chang
My Role: Financial modeling, market analysis, architectural strategy, 3D visualization, rendering, presentation deck design, and team presenter
Tools Used: Adobe Photoshop, Canva, Premiere Pro, Excel, MS Project
As part of a six-member team representing the University of Washington’s Runstad Department of Real Estate, I had the opportunity to participate in — and win — the 2024 NAIOP Pacific Northwest Real Estate Challenge. Our assignment: to envision an adaptive reuse strategy for the historic 1200 5th Ave IBM Building in downtown Seattle, originally designed by World Trade Center architect Minoru Yamasaki.
Our team proposed a $191M mixed-use redevelopment that included retail, a 132-key hotel, and 188 market-rate apartments, generating an 18% levered IRR. This competition brought together schools across the Pacific Northwest and was judged by a panel of industry leaders. Winning it not only validated our strategic thinking but also sharpened my skills in feasibility analysis, adaptive reuse, and collaborative real estate development under real-world constraints.
Presentation Deck
Edited and scripted by Alex Wilson; narrated by Sterling Wagner
Takeaway
This project reinforced my belief that the most successful developments balance creative vision with financial precision. By combining my design training with rigorous market and feasibility analysis, I helped our team craft a proposal that was not only architecturally compelling but also investment-ready. This experience sharpened my ability to collaborate across disciplines and deliver under real-world pressure — a mindset I now bring to every project I take on.
Awards and Recognitions
2024 Real Estate Challenge Winner – University of Washington
Team: Alex Wilson, Mehak Agarwal, Austin Chang, Jolin Fang, Vivek Sharma and Sterling Wagner .