Student groups from nine universities competed against each other for top honors and $5k in scholarships during the sixth annual Harold E. Eisenberg Foundation Real Estate Challenge. The Eisenberg Foundation partnered with Ald. Toni Foulkes (16th) and the City of Chicago to task students with creating in-­depth proposals to revitalize a part of Chicago’s Englewood neighborhood. Students presented their concepts, which focused on the redevelopment of the former Englewood Mall site at 63rd and Halsted, 7.4 acres of city-owned land.

Snapped: Ascendance Partners principal Craig Huffman, Ald. Toni Foulkes, Imperial Realty Co president Al Klairmont, Aarti Kotak, Sheila Eisenberg and Peter Eisenberg.

The six-student University of Illinois at Urbana-­Champaign team (pictured) was awarded first place and received a $5k award, while Roosevelt University and the University of Missouri took honorable mentions. The winning team’s proposal, Station at 63rd, is a mixed-use entertainment, commercial and residential concept. The students presented a thoughtful and well-­planned development, which included a community center, community gym, mixed-­income residential units and a Center for the Arts & Education along with a renovation of the historic firehouse in the middle lot. The plan also included creating open green space on the ground and on terraces above while bringing color to the neighborhood through collaborative art mural walls.