Torrance Site Featured in 2026 CREDA SoCal Real Estate Challenge

Now in its 29th year, the CREDA SoCal UCLA vs. USC Real Estate Challenge will be held Nov. 19 on the UCLA campus. Each year, the competition pits a five-member graduate student team from the Ziman Center of Real Estate at UCLA’s Anderson School of Business against a five member graduate student team from the Lusk Center at USC’s Marshall School of Business and Price School of Public Policy to determine the highest and best use for a unique parcel of land in Southern California. The two universities are currently tied at 14 wins apiece.

For 2026, the competition will be an approximately 30-acre site in the City of Torrance utilized as the city’s Civic Center, which includes City Hall, a municipal pool, a cultural arts center, a library and police department. The city wants to revitalize its Civic Center to better utilize the property by consolidating the public uses and developing the remaining acreage.

“This is a great infill site that provides a fantastic opportunity for creativity,” said Erin Crum, EVP, asset management, Alere Property, and LA Real Estate Challenge Chair. “That is why the CREDA SoCal challenge is so valuable for these students. They can talk to experts, experiment, collaborate and work on solving a real-world challenge that will also provide valuable insight to the city. I look forward to seeing what the students present.”

Connect

Inside The Story

CREDA SoCal

About Paul Bubny

Paul Bubny serves as Senior Content Director for Connect Commercial Real Estate, a role to which he brings 16-plus years’ experience covering the commercial real estate industry and 30-plus years in business-to-business journalism. In this capacity, he oversees daily operations while also reporting on both local/regional markets and national trends, covering individual transactions across all property types, as well as delving into broader subject matter. He produces 7-10 daily news stories per day and works with the Connect team and clients to develop longer-form content, ranging from Q&As to thought-leadership pieces. Prior to joining Connect, Paul was Managing Editor for both Real Estate Forum and GlobeSt.com at American Lawyer Media, where he oversaw operations at both publications while also producing daily news and feature-length articles. His tenure in B2B publishing stretches back into the print era, and he has served as Editor in Chief on four national trade publications. Since 1999, Paul has volunteered as the newsletter editor of passenger rail advocacy groups (one national, one local).

Order Reprints