Hands-on real estate learning helps MBA students make an impact

Recent graduate Carson Thrift (MBA '25) applied skills from his Full-time MBA concentration in real estate to make an impact for Ballet Arizona.

Like many fast-growing Sunbelt cities, Phoenix faces mounting affordability challenges. This issue is especially acute for the staff and artists at major arts organizations, including Ballet Arizona. In its strategic plan, Ballet Arizona explicitly acknowledged this challenge through an Artist Housing Initiative, which identifies affordable housing for staff and artists as critical to attracting and retaining talent.

Recognizing this issue, Ballet Arizona reached out to Mark Stapp, executive director of the Master of Real Estate Development (MRED) program, who designed a project for the W. P. Carey School’s Full-time MBA concentration in real estate.

Stapp assigned this project to recent graduate Carson Thrift (MBA '25) who tackled the problem as his capstone project for the concentration. Collaborating closely with Ballet Arizona, Thrift combined his deep grounding in business fundamentals with newly acquired real estate knowledge to conduct a comprehensive assessment that included meetings with the board, staff, and artists, a review of the organization’s financial statements, capital sources and an evaluation of market conditions.

Thrift then identified and analyzed several housing options for Ballet Arizona to consider. Each option was evaluated against a range of criteria including: start-up and operating costs, speed of implementation, scalability, artist appeal, organizational control, risk exposure, administrative feasibility, long-term value, and retention ROI.

Thrift ultimately recommended a two-pronged strategy, focused on implementing rental assistance stipends and securing targeted master lease agreements with local multifamily properties. Importantly, the approach provided a balanced, cost-effective, and flexible solution that could be implemented quickly, while also serving as a foundation for longer-term planning.

Ballet Arizona is now actively exploring these solutions that directly support its goals of enhancing artist well-being, improving talent retention, and strengthening recruitment. Thrift — now part of the Capital Markets team at JLL in Phoenix — has committed to continuing his support as the organization refines and advances its strategy.