About the Competition
How would you design a resort in Southwest Florida? An existing resort development is looking to add 600 units, and expand the property’s retail and amenity offerings. This 4-day, in-residence, paid team competition asks current graduate students or recent graduates in architecture, landscape architecture, urban design, or related disciplines to design a concept for developing a large green-field site adjacent to the existing resort units.
Existing resort properties + competition bounds
Bonita Village is an existing 80 unit condo/short-term rental resort property on 20 acres in Bonita Springs, FL. The property developer, Omer Dror, a Yale MBA and MIT Real Estate Development master student, is planning to further develop the surrounding property. A 90 unit condo building is due to begin construction in Summer 2020, and is already 10% pre-sold. The developer is looking to develop an additional 600 condo units which can also be leased on a short-term basis. In addition, the developer is expanding the property’s offerings to include retail and other amenities. Given the region’s high population density in the peak season (December-April) and lower density in summer, the developer is looking for ideas about how to design the site to accommodate temporary or semi-permanent buildings. Detailed information and assumptions about climate change, driverless cars ownership, and more will be provided upon acceptance into the competition.
Teams of 2-4 people will be provided with all expenses including: transportation to the property, a 3 bedroom unit to work and live in for the duration of the competition (4-5 days, depending on preferred date), resort pool and fitness center access, supplies, and 3 meals/day. Upon completion of the deliverables on the last day of the competition, all teams will be paid $1,500 each. At the conclusion of the competition, the teams with the best retail and resort proposals will be given additional rewards, and the team with the best overall proposal will be awarded the grand-prize of an additional $10,000. To enable participation of graduating students and students with summer employment, several competition times are available May-July, Sunday-Thursday or Thursday-Sunday (see RFQ Submission page for exact dates).
Teams should be interested in designing a resort in Southwest Florida that will be completed by 2025, and should bring appropriate design skills and knowledge. Acceptance into the competition will be through a request for qualifications by development team (submission of resumes and portfolio for each member), but no prior real estate development experience is necessary.
Additional existing site information, program information, competition goals, expected competition deliverables and more will be provided upon acceptance into the competition. Participants will not be provided computers or software.
Competition Benefits:
Grand prize: $10,000 (1 team selected)
Second prize(s): $5,000 (best revised post-competition proposal)
Competition stipend: $1,500 (per team)
Transportation provided to the property
2-3 bedroom rental unit to work and live in for the duration of the competition
Access to resort amenities (pools and fitness center)
Supplies
3 meals/day
Visits to nearby attractions
Day on a boat (optional, time permitting)
Competition and development proposal experience
Design Competition:
Propose a master plan for the 20 acre site including:
600 new condo/short term rental units
100,000 sqft new retail/civic space
Upgraded pools, fitness center and clubhouse
New resort cafe, bar, resort pool, concierge services, meeting rooms
Submit deliverables:
2 detailed site plans
3-4 site sections
Diagrams
3 perspective drawings
Additional drawings + inspiration images
Working 3d model
Teams of 2-4 graduate students or recent graduates
Multiple competition dates available depending on team members’ availabilities
$1,500 team stipend paid upon submission of deliverables on last day of competition
Grand prize awarded July 2019
