Latest News
Dr. Simons hosts Real Estate Market Analysis Competition
Please join Dr. Simons and Mr. David O'Neill to evaluate and recognize the top five market analysis case studies selected from 25 graduate students in the PDD 610/710 Real Estate Development Process/Market Analysis class.
The panel of judges for this year's competition includes David O’Neill, Colliers OM; Arne Goldman, Marous Brothers Construction; Ken Lurie, Rysar Properties; Gary Gross, Gross Builders, Inc.; and, Jamie Blackson Baker, St. Clair Superior DC. As in past years, the winners are announced immediately following the presentations, with cash prizes awarded.
This event will take place Monday, December 17, 2007 at 3:30pm at the Maxine Goodman Levin College of Urban Affairs at Cleveland State University, 1717 Euclid Avenue. Registration will begin at 3pm, and the program will be held from 3:30 to 5:30pm. A networking reception will follow program. The program is free and open to the public, however, attendees are requested to register by December 9th. Parking is available in the CSU parking structure on East 17th, between Chester and Euclid Avenues if you mention you are attending this event.
Dr. Simons presents the Halachic Origins of Real Estate
On October 23, 2007, Dr. Robert Simons hosted his latest event in his Halachic Origins of Real Estate series. With some of Cleveland's leading real estate professionals providing insights from scripture and comments on its current applicability, the event examined the roots of real estate acquisition, possession, transactions, and disclosure.
Panelists included Rabbi Ephraim Nisenbaum, Jewish Learning Connection; Mr. Mitchell Schneider, Esq., First Interstate Properties; Mr. David O'Neill, Colliers OM; Mr. Bruce Cweiber, Esq., Precision Title, Cleveland Bet Din; and, Mr. Morton Levin, Esq., The Levin Group. Dr. Simons served as the moderator of the event.
Please check back for information about future events in the Halachic Origins of Real Estate series.
Dr. Simons Ranked 30th Amongst All Real Estate Academics
The Journal of Real Estate Research, one of the top three academic real estate journals, has ranked Dr. Robert Simons 30th amongst all professors in the United States that publish academic articles in the real estate area. In a study entitled, “Contributions to the Journal of Real Estate Research: The First Twenty Years,” the journal tallied the academic contributions of professors over a twenty-year period to commemorate its 20th anniversary.
Dr. Simons' work has also aided Cleveland State University in securing a first-place ranking amongst all US colleges and universities as the most frequent institutional contributor over the last two decades.
Update from Spring 2007
2006 and the first part of 2007 have treated us well. We are involved in a number of new projects and new directions. Some of these new directions will be transformed into books, others scholarly papers and conference presentations. Consulting has included expert witness work in environmental damages, as well as several housing policy cases and an eminent domain case. Teaching is always an opportunity to learn new things, and interact with students and esteemed local practitioners. New Ph.D. graduate students come up with new ideas and questions.
Latest Book and Publication Projects
Our latest book, When Bad Things Happen to Good Property (published by the Environmental Law Institute), was released in summer, 2006. The most interesting feature is The Big Matrix as a fold out poster in the back. The Big Matrix allows the reader to roughly estimate property loss by type and extent of contamination and property type. The book has chapters written by both defense and plaintiff attorneys. I have been able to recommend the book instead of expert witness services for smaller claims. Several hundred copies have been sold so far.
The exposure to some of the real estate issues in South Africa on my Fulbright Scholarship at Wits University in Johannesburg, South Africa last year has inspired us to research indigenous land claims and property rights. Simons has assumed the lead editorship of a peer-reviewed American Real Estate Society (ARES) research monograph on Indigenous Property and Valuation Practices covering tribal and indigenous land activity in Africa, Australia and North America. This edited volume should go to press in late 2007. We are also working on some joint papers with our South African colleges on the re-development of former gold mining lands. A long-term project on international and tribal land claims is also on the horizon, and this will be fleshed out at the next meeting of the European Real Estate Society in London this summer, where Simons is chairing a panel discussion on indigenous land claims.
Another book in progress is “Turning Prophets into Profit – and other institutional conversions” about the redevelopment of surplus church and school buildings. This book is being written with two other authors, Larry Ledebur, Ph.D. and retired urban planner Gary DeWine, as well as some PhD students at Cleveland State University. It will be published by Urban Land Institute.
Consulting and Expert Witness Assignments
Consulting this past year has been expanding, and we have hired a new associate, James Amendola, to complement Senior Associate Pitt Curtiss. Both Pitt and James have Masters in Urban Planning from CSU. Donna Simons continues to run the office and manage cash flow.
The bulk of our consulting business is expert witness testimony regarding the loss of property value that results from environmental contamination. We are involved in mediation, class action, class certification and mass action cases related to groundwater contamination from petroleum and chemical spills, MTBE, PCE,TCE, (including PFCs) and releases all over the country. We also had one case in South Africa last year. The causes of the contamination range from leaking landfills, LUSTs, railroad car accidents, pipeline leaks, industrial vapors, and refinery emissions.
In addition to our environmental work, we have worked on Housing Policy issues, fiscal impact analysis, GIS evaluations, and expert witness work. Specific projects (several through Cleveland State University) are:
Housing market and fiscal impacts to central cities resulting from removal of municipal employee residency requirements in Ohio, a challenging assignment involving surveys, regression analysis and economic modeling;
Cleveland, Ohio area apartment/condo investment opportunity study that utilized GIS;
A suburban county office and service relocation study that helps balance both client and employee needs. The county commissioners are the clients;
Expert witness testimony supportive of using eminent domain in a riverfront area of Cleveland;
Fiscal impact of the redevelopment of an 11,000 acre brownfield site in Northeast Ohio.
University Activities
Roby has two additional Ph.D. candidates working with him right now – Youngme Seo and Eugene Choi. Youngme’s dissertation topic is likely to be the impact of school quality on economic development. This has led to some fascinating reading on school quality the impact on a community’s property values. Eugene’s topic is related to housing supply.
Roby continues to team teach with some of the most successful real estate practitioners in Cleveland, Ohio. The twice yearly graduate student Real Estate paper competitions (where students compete for cash prizes) have added local mentors to improve the quality of the presentations and the breadth of knowledge of the students. Some of the past presented projects have made it into the Cleveland marketplace.
A final innovation was the organization of an academic panel on the Halachic origins of real estate last fall. 150 people attended (maybe it was the free kosher lunch). A second panel on financing is scheduled for March 2007.
We have also updated and improved our website. Our web designer Jeff Sugalski has done a great job. Please check us out at www.rasimons.com.
Best wishes,
Roby Simons
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