From brownfield to goldmine

	Lennox White '07

A year into his job at PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) Real Estate Consulting Group in New York City, Lennox White ’07 feels he’s already ahead of the game. That’s because the Lehigh finance major tailored his undergraduate course load to accommodate his passion for real estate.
A critical component in Lehigh’s new Integrated Real Estate at Lehigh (ire@l) program, the two-semester long Practicum in Real Estate was instrumental in helping White develop and hone his commercial real estate skills. Along with a few peers, he had the opportunity to analyze the proposed relocation of the local PBS television affiliate, WLVT, to the nation’s largest brownfield site on the South Side of Bethlehem.
The high-profile community project allowed White to network with developers and community officials while assessing such project details as costs, available financing, feasibility, marketability and the architectural renderings and building plans.
It was a valuable stepping stone that helped steer White to PwC’s Real Estate Consulting Group. “I felt I already had some real, hands-on experience in commercial real estate development,” he says. “The practicum played a significant role in helping me transition to my role here at PwC by giving me early exposure to commercial property valuation methods.”
Now, White’s applying that experience in a grander scale at PwC, where he’s already making contributions while getting acclimated to the competitive commercial real estate market. The practicum helped introduce White to property appraisals and helped him adjust to the proprietary modeling programs at PwC.
“I’m just getting started, but working at PwC has already been such a rewarding experience,” he says. “I’m getting incredible exposure to the commercial real estate market in New York City and am excited about the opportunities and professional growth here at PwC and in this industry.”
It’s been an adjustment, of course. White works on the complex details involved in property appraisals for client, often working against the clock with tight deadlines. But he’s up to the challenge and looks forward to pursuing a future in securitization, valuation, or the development realm.
--Natalia Krepak