Three Walls Development Alumni Team Wins Third Annual 'Pitch for a Million' Real Estate Competition
June 24, 2022
Contact: Office of Advancement and External Relations
Phone: 410.837.5739
A team of University of Baltimore alumni finished first in the third annual "Pitch for a Million" competition, held on June 23 on the UBalt campus. The competition, in which six finalists from the University's 2022 M&T Bank Real Estate Fellows program discussed their concepts for improving Baltimore's middle-market neighborhoods before a panel of expert judges, was clinched by the Three Walls Development team, including Amber Jones, B.S.B.A. '18, Wesley Hawkins, B.S. '18, and Lamar Purnell, B.S. '17. Their project goal is to build vibrant communities in Baltimore through affordable, family-owned housing.
The competition is part of an intense immersion into the finer points of property development, led and mentored by some of the region's top real-estate professionals. This cohort represents the third in the University's M&T Bank Real Estate Fellows program, and has focused on finding solutions to critical development needs existing within Baltimore's middle-market neighborhoods.
More about the "Pitch for a Million" winners:
- Wesley Hawkins is a retired correctional officer who currently works as a property manager, business owner, and CEO of a nonprofit, The Nolita Project Inc. Hawkins serves as a mentor to underprivileged youth in Baltimore, and is the author of the book Dear Nolita.
- Amber Jones is working with ReBuild Metro's Vacant House Stabilization Program, which is set to launch this year in East Baltimore.
- Lamar Purnell is leveraging his UBalt Jurisprudence degree from the Yale Gordon College of Arts and Sciences as he pursues a J.D. in The University of Baltimore School of Law. Purnell is responsible for starting a behavioral health clinic in the city.
The winning proposal may win up to $1 million via a Guidance Line of Credit from Baltimore Community Lending. The finalists in the University's 2022 cohort of the M&T Bank Real Estate Fellows Program included three current UBalt students and three alumni, each of whom presented their ideas for strengthening the city via neighborhood development during the June 23 live/virtual event.
Watch a video about the 2022 "Pitch for a Million" competition.
Learn more about UBalt's 2022 M&T Bank Real Estate Fellows.