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WASHINGTON (May 3, 2021) — Twenty-three impressive developments from across North America have been selected as finalists for the Urban Land Institute’s (ULI) 2021 Americas Awards for Excellence competition, which is widely recognized as one of the real estate industry’s most prestigious award programs. This year’s finalists include 18 developments in the United States, four in Canada, and one in Mexico.

The ULI Americas Awards for Excellence (uli.org/aae) evaluates submissions on overall excellence, including achievements in marketplace acceptance, design, planning, technology, amenities, economic impact, management, community engagement, innovation, and sustainability, among others. In addition to an open category, which recognizes all product types, the awards this year offered categories for recognition in Equitable Development, Resilient Development, Small-Scale Development, and Urban Open Space. Category recognition will be announced when ULI announces the winners this summer. The ULI Americas Awards for Excellence is open to projects and programs in the ULI Americas region that are substantially complete, financially viable, and in stabilized operation. The winners of the regional Awards for Excellence programs in the Americas, Europe, and Asia Pacific become finalists in the 2021 ULI Global Awards for Excellence (uli.org/gae). ULI will announce the winners of the Global Awards for Excellence in conjunction with the ULI Fall Meeting in October.

The 2021 ULI Americas Awards for Excellence finalists are:

Alexandra Park Revitalization, Toronto, Ontario. Developers/Owners: Toronto Community Housing Corporation (TCHC), Tridel. Designers: Urban Strategies Inc., LGA Architectural Partners, Teeple Architects, Janet Rosenberg Studio.

The Bentway, Toronto, Ontario. Developer: Waterfront Toronto. Owners: City of Toronto, The Bentway Conservancy. Designer: PUBLIC WORK, Greenberg Consultants Inc.

Casa Arabella, Oakland, California. Developers: East Bay Asian Local Development Corporation, The Unity Council, City of Oakland, Tableau Development, CTY. Owners: East Bay Asian Local Development Corporation, The Unity Council, City of Oakland, U.S. Bancorp Community Development Corporation. Designers: Pyatok Architecture, Branagh Construction, PGAdesign, IDA Structural Engineers, Cordoba Corporation, VST Engineering, Emerald City Engineers, Dilworth Eliot Studio, RGD Acoustics, Langan, Argus, Sunshine Design, Rockridge Geotechnical, Bright Green Strategies, RBA Creative, Davis Energy Group.

Dairy Block, Denver, Colorado. Developers/Owners: McWHINNEY, Grand American, Sage Hospitality. Designers: Crème Design, Shears Adkins Rockmore Architects, Johnson Nathan Strohe.

East Point, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Developer: Pivot Project Development. Owners: Jonathan Dodson, David Wanzer, Ben Sellers, Sandino Thompson, Jabee Williams, Dr. Jeff Watts, Michael Davis, Garner Watson, Jamila Harvey, Dr. Patrina Sattiewhite-Walter, Dr. Quintin Hughes, Chaya Fletcher, Crystal Buggs, Steven Harris, Brittani Hunter, Jeff Engle, Brandon Birdwell, Levi Ballard, Emmanuel Sosanya, Cordell Love, Greg Johnson, Courtney Strickland, Kenyetta Richard, Steve Mason. Designers: Miles and Associates, Gardner Architects.

Essex Crossing, New York City. Developers/Owners: L+M Development Partners, BFC Partners, Taconic Partners, Prusik Group, Goldman Sachs Urban Investment Group. Designers: Beyer Blinder Belle, SHoP Architects, West8, SLCE Architects, Handel Architects, Dattner Architects, Gensler, Dxa Studio, Future Green Studio, Kokobo Greenscapes, Cetra Ruddy.

EV635, Mexico City. Developer/owner/designer: ZDA (Z Desarrollo + Arquitectura).

Governors Island, New York City. Developers: Trust for Governors Island, New York City Mayor’s Office. Owner: Trust for Governors Island. Designers: West 8, Mathews Nielsen Landscape Architects, Magnusson Klemencic Associates, AKRF, Hart Crowser Inc., Pentagram, Tillotson Design Associates, Dagher Associates, Pine and Swallow Environmental, Northern Designs, Code Consulting Inc., Faithful & Gould, ETM Associates, Langan.

The Gravity Project, Columbus, Ohio. Developer: Kaufman Development. Owner: The Gravity Project LLC. Designers: NBBJ, ICRAVE, Architecture Alliance.

Grosvenor Ambleside, West Vancouver, British Columbia. Developer: Grosvenor Americas. Owners: Grosvenor Americas (retail), Strata Corporation (residential). Designers: James KM Cheng Architects, Mitchell Freedland Interior Design, SWA Group, Durante Kreuk Landscape Architecture. General Contractor: Ledcor Group.

Ironworks, Vancouver, British Columbia. Developer/Owner: Conwest Developments. Designer: Taylor Kurtz Architecture + Design.

Kabin, Denver, Colorado. Developer/Owner: Zeppelin Development. Designers: Dynia Architects, BRS Architects.

Liberty Bank Building, Seattle, Washington. Developers: Community Roots Housing, Africatown Community Land Trust, Byrd Barr Place. Owners: Community Roots Housing, Byrd Barr Place. Designer: Mithun.

Midtown Park, Houston, Texas. Developer/Owner: Midtown Redevelopment Authority. Designers: Design Workshop, Walter P. Moore, Urban Architecture.

New Hope Housing and Star of Hope’s Cornerstone Community, Houston, Texas. Developers/Owners: New Hope Housing Inc., Star of Hope Mission. Designers: GSMA, Inc., Kirksey Architecture.

Plant Riverside District, Savannah, Georgia. Developers/Owners: Plant Riverside District LLC, The Kessler Collection. Designers: Sottile & Sottile, John T. Campo & Associates Inc., PFVS Architecture, Thomas + Hutton Engineering.

Promenade Park, Fort Wayne, Indiana. Developer/Owner: Fort Wayne Parks and Recreation. Designers/Consultants: The Hagerman Group, Design Collaborative, Lamar Johnson Collaborative, Engineering Resources, Inc., Hoch Associates, One Lucky Guitar, American Structurepoint.

Riverfront Park, Spokane, Washington. Developer/Owner: City of Spokane Parks and Recreation. Designers: Berger Partnership, NAC Architecture, Jacobs, Dark Light Design, Land Expressions, Garco Construction, Hill International, Walker Construction, DH, GuildWorks LLC, Stantec Engineers, Bernardo Wills, SPVV.

Sawyer Yards, Houston, Texas. Developers: The Deal Company, Western General, Lovett Commercial. Owners: The Deal Company, Western General, Lovett Commercial, J5 Equities. Designers: Studio Red Architects, Asakura Robinson, StudioLFA, LH2 Architecture, Colby Design.

South Lake Union Redevelopment, Seattle, Washington. Developer/Owner: Vulcan Real Estate. Designers: Ankrom Moisan, BOLA Architecture + Planning, Callison RTKL, CNA Architects, CollinsWoerman, GGLO, Graphite Design Group, Johnson Oaklief Architecture & Planning Inc., LMN Architects, Miller Hull, NBBJ, Perkins+Will, Runberg Architecture Group, ZGF Architects.

TWA Hotel, New York City. Developer: MORSE Development. Owners: MCR, MORSE Development. Designers: Beyer Blinder Belle Architects and Planners LLP, LUBRANO CIAVARRA Architects, INC Architecture & Design, Stonehill Taylor, Mathews Nielsen Landscape Architects.

Van Aken District, Shaker Heights, Ohio. Developer/Owner: RMS Investment Corporation. Designers: Bialosky Cleveland, MKSK, Dimit Architects.

Wheaton Revitalization Project, Wheaton, Maryland. Creators: Montgomery County, Maryland; Maryland National Capital Park and Planning Commission (M-NCPPC); Stonebridge Associates Inc.; Bozzuto. Implementers: Montgomery County, Maryland; Maryland National Capital Park and Planning Commission (M-NCPPC); Stonebridge Associates Inc.; Bozzuto. Designers: Gensler, Oculus.

The finalists were selected by a multidisciplinary jury of ULI members representing a range of real estate and land use expertise, including development, finance, planning, urban design, architecture, and landscape architecture.

“Nearly thirty years ago, as a young ULI member, my initial exposure to the Awards for Excellence-winning projects was an eye-opener to the positive and constructive impact that real estate development can have on making our communities better places,” said jury chair Alex J. Rose, senior vice president, development, Continental Development Corporation, El Segundo, California. “Against the backdrop of a pandemic and economic disruption, these projects are complete and thriving. They represent the distinct, yet replicable, work of dedicated developers and community leaders continuing to push boundaries to enhance the physical landscape and our economic and environmental health. Not only am I inspired by the creativity and thoughtfulness that is reflected in the projects the jury reviews, I am personally pushed to be a better steward of land and community in my own work thanks to finalists like these.”

In addition to Rose, the 2021 ULI Americas Awards for Excellence jury members are Janice Barnes, managing partner, Climate Adaptation Partners, New York City; David Crabtree, corporate, commercial, and civic practice leader, Perkins&Will, Charlotte, North Carolina; Doug Craig, vice president, RVi Planning + Landscape Architecture, Phoenix, Arizona; Marilynn A. Davis, chief real estate officer, Clark Atlanta University, Atlanta, Georgia; Rosemary Feenan, executive vice president, QuadReal, Vancouver, British Columbia; Jane Jenkins, president and chief executive officer, Downtown Oklahoma City Partnership, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma; Leroy Moore, senior vice president, chief operating officer, Tampa Housing Authority, Tampa, Florida; Paul Morris, chief executive officer, MCP Foundation Inc., Atlanta, Georgia; Benedict Tranel, principal, Gensler, San Francisco, California; JD Watumull, president, Watumull Properties Corporation, Honolulu, Hawaii; and Xiao Zheng, principal, SWA Group, Laguna Beach, California.

The Awards for Excellence program, established in 1979 and subsequently expanded to a global program, recognizes real estate projects that achieve the highest standard of excellence. The program is the centerpiece of ULI’s efforts to identify and promote best practices in all types of real estate development.