The student team at Lusk Center at USC's Marshall School of Business and Price School of Public Policy has won the Silver Shovel award at the annual NAIOP SoCal UCLA vs. USC Real Estate Challenge. This year's competition asked the student teams to create a plan to redevelop a 15-acre site located at the intersection of Beach Blvd. and Katella Ave. between the 91 and 22 freeways in the City of Stanton. Hardscape manufacturer ORCO has owned the site for 70 years. "We want to congratulate both USC and UCLA for their inestimable efforts put into their site plans," Veronica Slavik of ORCO Block & Hardscape, said at the event. "The Muth family was impressed with each team's dedication to creativity and due diligence. We appreciate the time they spent to present to us the best use of our site while honoring our legacy in the city. The winning proposal presented by USC was an impressive holistic approach to truly maximizing the value and use of the land through an innovative design." The USC team proposed a concept called The Block on the Beach, which create a live-work-play hub along with a town center for Orange County. It includes rental apartments, for-sale townhomes, retail and a public plaza. The property will create a unique experience for residents but will also serve to generate tax revenue and jobs for the city and more housing for the area. The event included a panel of industry insiders to serve as judges along with emcee Paul McDonald, a former USC quarterback who led the university to a national championship in 1978. "While the competition is ultimately designed to help students gain real-world real estate experience, students' proposals may help the future development of the owner of the site," Angela Azizian, director of debt team lead at MetLife Investment Management and one of the judges of the real estate challenge, says. UCLA's student team also had a forward-thinking concept. Their project was called Arbor Commons, and was a plan to create a mixed-use devel­opment to provide attainable, quality housing and retail. The property would be designed to encourage pedestrian traffic and will maintain ORCO's place in the community. "Both schools presented excellent development plans which took into account the owner's objectives. The quality of the proposals and work products are testament to the strength of both schools' real estate programs," adds Azizian. "The students had to present a proposal that was financially viable and architecturally sound while taking into consideration the easement and restrictions from the city. Both teams presented truly creative ideas. In my book both teams are winners as they both presented very well thought out proposals. I am confident that these students are going to have very successful careers in commercial real estate."