CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (CBS19 NEWS) -- A group of University of Virginia graduate students has made it to the final round of the prestigious Urban Land Institute Hines Student Competition. 

This competition offers graduate students the opportunity to form their own multidisciplinary teams and engage in a challenging exercise concerning responsible land use. 

The group worked on a real land site in Charleston, South Carolina and addressed issues in and around that specific site.

The goal of the project was to redefine the area, which is a coastal wetland, and create and multi-income and multipurpose neighborhood.

They also wanted to address the issues of ecology, community, and connectivity and were inspired by some local projects that are making a difference in this community.

"These are spaces which served other purposes in the past, and they're giving back to the community as being fantastic event spaces, wedding spaces, spaces for entrepreneurs and maker spaces. Those are projects which serve a similar purpose of giving back to the community that I was exposed to in my coursework," said Andre Rezaie, a member of the group. 

The winning team receives $50,000 ($5,000 of it goes to the university the team represents) and each finalist team receives $10,000.

Their final presentation takes place on April 6. 

For more information on the competition, click here.