William Michael Bennett

Akason, Denise and William Bennett. 2014. Hemisphere Development LLC: Betting on a Brownfield. Case 5-413-753 (KEL799).

The case puts students in the shoes of Todd Davis, founder and CEO of a boutique brownfield redevelopment firm, Hemisphere Development, in 2010. Davis is wrestling with decisions and processes surrounding the potential acquisition and redevelopment of the former Delphi Automotive plant in Columbus, Ohio. When making the investment decision, Davis (and students) must consider various factors: What is Hemisphere's implicit investment strategy, and what are the firm's core competencies? How should the firm finance this transaction to achieve an acceptable return?

In addition to presenting a brownfield and strategy exercise, this case exposes students to concepts and terminologies used in real estate and environmental projects, including brownfields, public-private partnerships, and creative financing. Finally, the case highlights real-life examples of balancing risk and return.

Akason, Denise, William Bennett and Louis Merlini. 2009. Financial and Environmental Impact Analysis of Sustainable Retrofitting. Case 5-409-752 (KEL430).

The case puts students in the position of a young analyst working for a Chicago-based student housing developer. The premise is that the analyst, Tricia, must prepare a report for the firm’s partners detailing her recommendations regarding a variety of green upgrades for a potential value-added acquisition project. The redevelopment project is based on two multifamily student housing redevelopment projects in Denton, Texas (led by Iconic Development). The case focuses solely on the operating expense reduction that took place at the property and does not address potential changes to property revenues.

Akason, Denise, William Bennett and Franco Famularo. 2011. Hotel Perennial. Case 5-410-757 (KEL518).

The Hotel Perennial case puts students in the shoes of Dan Jameson, founder and CEO of a boutique real estate private equity firm called EL Investments (ELI), as he wrestles with the decision of whether or not to acquire the distressed Hotel Perennial, a 194-room hotel on the north side of Chicago, Illinois.

When making the investment decision, Jameson (and students) must consider various factors: What is ELI’s implicit investment strategy, and what are the firm’s core competencies? What are Jameson’s goals for growing ELI, and how might the acquisition of the Hotel Perennial fit with those goals? What opportunities and challenges might ELI face if it decides to acquire the hotel? How much would a buyer likely have to pay for the Hotel Perennial to achieve an attractive return?

In addition to containing a hotel valuation and modeling exercise, the Hotel Perennial case also exposes students to several real estate industry concepts and terminologies, including those regarding the hotel sector, equity sourcing, and distressed investing.

The case material assumes that students have taken an introductory real estate finance course or have relevant work experience.