Development, Intern at Essex Property Trust in Bay Area - Peninsula

Summary: Essex Property Trust, an S&P 500 real estate investment trust (REIT), invites highly motivated college students to join their 8-week, paid summer internship program in Development. As a Development Intern, you will support the team responsible for sourcing, entitling, and executing multifamily development projects, gaining hands-on experience in the full development lifecycle. Responsibilities: - Support Financial Analysis Activities - Assist in preparing and updating basic financial models used to evaluate development opportunities - Help compile project budgets, gather data, and prepare schedules for feasibility, entitlement/design, and construction phases - Support pipeline organization and tracking by maintaining spreadsheets and updating internal reports - Assist With Site Identification & Due Diligence - Help gather information on potential development sites through market research and desktop analysis - Assist cross functional teams by organizing due diligence materials such as zoning documents, maps, reports, and consultant feedback - Support the review process by helping compile checklists, summaries, and comparison tables - Conduct Market & Zoning Research - Research market trends, comp data, and local economic indicators to support internal decision making - Assist in reviewing zoning codes, development requirements, and entitlement processes across target markets - Help maintain and organize a library of market data, zoning summaries, and relevant local policies - Support Entitlement, Design & Project Execution Tasks - Work closely with Project Managers, Directors, and VPs to support entitlement-related tasks, including helping prepare presentations, reviewing zoning references, and coordinating information from stakeholders - Assist in the review process of architectural and construction documents by organizing materials, logging revisions, and helping prepare comments - Help coordinate with consultants—architects, engineers, contractors—by tracking proposals, invoices, and change orders for alignment with budgets - Assist in preparing investment memos, presentations, and project documentation by collecting project inputs and formatting materials Required Qualifications: - You must be enrolled in a four-year accredited undergraduate program or a Master's Program, majoring in Real Estate, Finance, Economics, Business, Construction Management, Urban Planning, Architecture, Engineering, or a related field - Rising seniors (Class of 2027) or Master Program students are encouraged to apply - Strong written and verbal communication, analytical thinking, curiosity, organization, and the ability to interpret information with guidance - Basic quantitative skills and comfort with detail are important - Comfortable with core Excel functions (e.g., SUMIFS, XLOOKUP/INDEX-MATCH, IF/AND/OR), pivot tables, basic data cleaning (duplicates, formatting, missing values), Conditional Formatting, and structured tables - Interest in real estate development, finance, design, and project management - Ability to work collaboratively with multiple departments and partners - Strong attention to detail and a willingness to learn new skills - Proactive curiosity — asking questions, seeking clarity, and taking initiative in tasks Preferred Qualifications: - Prior internship, project-based work, or campus involvement related to real estate development, construction management, planning, or data analysis is strongly preferred - Experience applying analytical or research skills in a professional or academic setting is a plus - Experience organizing datasets and building simple sensitivities is a plus Required Skills: Financial modeling, Market research, Zoning analysis Important Skills: Excel proficiency, Data analysis Nice-to-Have Skills: Analytical thinking, Curiosity Benefits: Medical, Dental, Vision, Paid parental leave, 401k employer match, Excellence rewards, Wellness programs, 12 paid holidays, 15 PTO days, Housing discount of 20%