Mike Beale, Central Florida chapter president of the National Association of Industrial and Office Properties, announced that local real estate magnate Jim Heistand, majority owner of Orlando-based Capital Partners Inc., has contributed $300,000 to fund an Eminent Scholar Endowed Chair for the UCF School of Real Estate.

                The critical funding represents the initial step toward endowment of an undergraduate real estate degree program within the University of Central Florida's College of Business Administration in Orlando.

                The concept of a UCF School of Real Estate was first proposed by the NAIOP Central Florida Chapter as a means of training and retaining local talent in the commercial real estate industry.

                    The NAIOP Chapter had announced previosly a major financial commitment to the University of Central Florida to fund an Eminent Scholar Endowed Chair in Real Estate.

                “We now have an opportunity to anchor something in Orlando that’s unique to our region and all the other schools,” said Beale.  "That opportunity is the creation of the first undergraduate real estate degree program of its kind in Central Florida."

                This landmark commitment—with a total price tag of $2.6 million―calls for NAIOP to raise $600,000 to fund an Eminent Scholar Endowed Chair in Real Estate, under which a scholar will run the school as a staff member. The staff member would be hired in 2006. The second phase involves raising the remaining $2 million over an 18-month period. The third phase involves funding of scholarships.

            Thomas Keon, Dean of UCF’s College of Business, is enthusiastic about NAIOP’s commitment. While he conservatively estimates that the real estate program will likely come on line in 2007 or 2008, he's optimistic about an earlier debut. “I’m hoping because of the way NAIOP is trying to help, we will have the degree program in place by fall 2006.”

           NAIOP Central Florida has a history of giving greatly to educational programs. In 2002, the chapter donated $100,000 (which was matched by the state of Florida) to the College of Business Administration for the Jim Brown Endowed Real Estate and Business Ethics Scholarship Fund. This fund was named after Jim Brown, founder and past president of the chapter.

            Now NAIOP is stepping up its commitment intensity. Watch for special programs to be announced soon in which you can participate to help the chapter make UCF’s School of Real Estate a reality.