A little bit of Magic, a lot of real estate

Most people know Earvin "Magic" Johnson for his remarkable career as a basketball player. But Bobby Turner knows another side of Johnson -- the side that is also a prosperous figure in the urban real estate market. And yesterday, Robert "Bobby" Turner, the managing director at Canyon--Johnson Urban Fund, shared his knowledge with Penn when he paid a visit to Wharton students and faculty as a speaker for the Musser-Schoemaker Leadership series. Turner and Johnson are partners for Canyon-Johnson Urban Fund, which focuses on the acquisition, development, finance and management of commercial real estate assets in urban communities. Turner delivered a presentation on the secrets of success in urban real estate business and briefly analyzed his past projects. With detailed photos of his recent endeavors, Turner showed students why his developments -- mainly large shopping centers -- have been assets to communities, his company and the company's investors. Turner attributes much of his success to his own involvement in the urban communities with which he works. He said a large amount of marketing research goes into his projects to ensure that the community is happy with the end result. "Arrogance is a disaster in urban real estate," Turner said. "Unless you have the support of the community, they will vandalize, separate themselves and show little interest in your development." Returning to his alma mater -- he is a Wharton alum with a bachelor's degree in finance -- Turner added that having a well-rounded development team is important for making fundamentally sound investments. "The last thing you want is 10 guys on the investment team who all graduated from Wharton," Turner admitted. "They've all had the same background.... They all have similar thought processes." And partnering with a well-known figure like Johnson does not hurt. Turner said that teaming up with Johnson has given him a greater ability to rally support from mayors and city officials for his projects. "It's an incredible tool to have," he said. "I don't know a mayor who wouldn't pick up the phone and say, 'Hey Earvin, what can I do for you?'... But if what we promised doesn't get done, then that photo [opportunity] was worthless." Despite his hesitance at employing an all-Wharton staff, Turner was ready and willing to advise aspiring Wharton students. "Try an angle, and if it doesn't work, try a different angle," Turner suggested. While some students said they came to the presentation to get an idea of what their lives after Wharton could be like, others came just to get a broader view of the real estate market. "I'm really interested in real estate." Wharton graduate student Heather Zhao said. "I came just to get a broader sense of the commercial side of real estate and how to effectively generate profit."