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Building the Future

Ohio Wesleyan, City of Delaware Help Students Explore Real Estate Finance, Development

A group of Ohio Wesleyan University students spent fall semester planning luxury apartments, rooftop restaurants, and community courtyards – and their own futures.

Students in Professor Barbara MacLeod's Real Estate Finance seminar received a hypothetical Request for Proposal (RFP) to redevelop nearly 7 acres of retail space located near the university. The fictitious RFP was created for the class by the City of Delaware's Economic Development Director Nic Langford and Development Planners David Gentile and Jon White.

Bringing the 'Whole Process to Life'

"Nic was the real spark behind the project," said MacLeod, who teaches in OWU's Economics and Business Department.

"My students broke into five teams, and each team came up with their own idea and (Step 1) responded to an RFP developed by Nic, David, and Jon," she said. "These three visited my class early in the semester to describe the project, the RFP process, and the city's goals for such projects. They graded the RFP responses from each student team. Then (Step 2), the students researched to develop their financial projections, and finally, (Step 3) prepared a complete package and created their presentations.

"Nic arranged for the presentations to occur at City Hall and invited others to stop by," MacLeod said. "It has been a true collaboration with Nic, Jon, and David, and an exciting way to bring the whole process to life for my students."

Getting Down to Business

On presentation day, the Ohio Wesleyan students filed into City Hall dressed to impress and armed with reams of financial, demographic, architectural, landscape, and marketing data to address their made-up assignment with real research.

Mayor Carolyn Kay Riggle welcomed the Bishops, telling them she was interested in hearing the perspectives of this Generation Z group. "This is exciting for us," Riggle said.

Each of the four-student teams had 30 minutes to make their presentations and take questions as they sought to convince the city officials that their specific proposal was the right one for the theoretical redevelopment. The OWU teams and their proposals were:

• Bishop Real Estate Group, comprising students Seth Anderson '25, Mitchell Cosler '25, Gabe O'Reilly '26, and Tyler Yanka '25. They proposed a three-story building featuring 236 luxury apartments and ground-level retail space. They would incorporate a dog park, an outdoor gym, and, as O'Reilly noted, "my personal favorite – the rooftop dining and event space" into their design.
• JLTG, comprising students John Cervieri '25, Luisa Duarte '26, Trip Pierce '25, and Garrett Smith '26. They proposed The Wellness Plaza, a mixed-use development focused on "creating a fitness and health-oriented space" that "combines retail, dining, and wellness-focused amenities to promote a healthy lifestyle and community engagement in the University and Downtown area." Borrowing a quote from NBA legend Michael Jordan, Pierce told those listening to the presentation, "Here at JLTG, we're going to make the project happen."
• Jay Martin Real Estate Group, comprising OWU men's soccer players and students Drew Doza '25, Landon Kuhn '25, Franklin Rodriguez '25, and Thomas Stathulis '25, chose to honor their accomplished coach with their team name. They proposed a three-story retail/office building and a five-story apartment complex with a hidden parking structure and lots of attention to detail. "As our great mentor Jay Martin has said throughout our career, 'The little things will lead you to excel,'" Rodriguez said.
• Delaware Square, comprising students Cody Heis '26, Aaron Mars '25, Luke Milanovich '26, and Othman "OT" Taha '26. They proposed a "high-quality shopping center and plaza with a courtyard in the heart of it." They would incorporate brick walkways and a fountain to replicate the feel and appeal of OWU's JAYwalk. The goal, Milanovich said, is to create "a nice and unique gathering space for the community."
• Bishop Commons, comprising students Isaac Henry '25, Kory Kaiser '25, Austin Roberts '26, and Andrew Williamson '25. Their proposal includes a multifamily apartment complex with 258 units along with a pool, multi-use path, and 1-acre park. "You're living in a super-fast growing area, and you have amenities all around you," Williamson said. "We really want to make Delaware a premier destination."

Preparing for the Real World

Because the project was hypothetical, no team was actually selected to develop the property, but Langford told the students, "You're going to have a leg up" in careers tied to real estate development if they choose that route.

"This is a really cool project," he said, noting that he didn't have an opportunity to work on such a comprehensive RFP until he was completing his graduate degree in Public Administration and Economic Development at the University of Louisville, Kentucky.

And, speaking on behalf of his fellow students, JLTG's Trip Pierce thanked the city officials who took time to listen to everyone's presentations and ask questions to help them create even stronger proposals.

"I enjoyed this process," said Pierce, a Finance major from Lake Forest, Illinois. "It was fun. And I appreciated all of the feedback, too."

Learn more about Ohio Wesleyan's Department of Economics and Business and its majors, minors, and course offerings at owu.edu/economics.