The content for this article was originally featured on ULI’s website on July 13, 2023.

Aerial view of Phase 2 of the Aurora Bridge Bioswales. Collectively the three phases of the swales clean 2 million gallons of toxic runoff from the Aurora Bridge annually.

WASHINGTON (July 13, 2023) – Ten developments from across North America have been selected as winners of the Urban Land Institute’s (ULI) 2023 ULI Americas Awards for Excellence.

ULI began the Awards for Excellence program in 1979 to recognize superior development efforts in the private, public, and nonprofit sectors. Winning projects represent the highest standards of achievement in the land use profession and encompass a wide range of land uses, sizes, investments, and geographic locations. The winners of the ULI Americas Awards for Excellence become finalists for the 2023 ULI Global Awards for Excellence, competing against projects from the Europe and Asia Pacific regions. The awards are open to projects and programs in the ULI Americas region that are substantially complete, financially viable, and in stable operation. The program evaluates submissions on overall excellence, including achievements in marketplace acceptance, design, planning, technology, amenities, economic impact, management, community engagement, innovation, and sustainability, among others.

This year, 68 projects and programs from across the Americas region were submitted for the competition. From this impressive field, the 13-member jury composed of development, finance, planning, urban design, architecture, and landscape architecture experts selected 20 finalists.

The 2023 ULI Americas Awards for Excellence winners include:

• Aegis Living Lake Union – Seattle, Wash., USA
• Aurora Bridge Bioswales – Seattle, Wash., USA
• Cambridge Crossing (CX) – Cambridge, Mass., USA
• First Americans Museum – Oklahoma City, Okla., USA
• HomeRise at Mission Bay – San Francisco, Calif., USA
• Ironworks – Vancouver, British Columbia, CA
• King Open/Cambridge Street Upper Schools & Community Complex – Cambridge, Mass., USA
• Little Island – New York, N.Y., USA
• University of California Merced, Master Architect 2020 – Merced, Calif., USA
• Water Street Tampa – Tampa, Fla., USA

The public can view the winners, finalists, and submissions at the 2023 ULI Americas Awards for Excellence gallery.

In addition to an open category, which recognizes all product types, the categories for this year’s awards included Equitable Development, Low-Carbon Development, Resilient Development, Small-Scale Development, and Urban Open Space.

The following projects received recognition in these categories:

• Low-Carbon Development — Aegis Living Lake Union;
• Low-Carbon Development – King Open/Cambridge Street Upper Schools & Community Complex
• Low-Carbon Development – University of California Merced, Master Architect 2020
• Small-Scale Development – HomeRise at Mission Bay
• Urban Open Space – Aurora Bridge Bioswales
• Urban Open Space – Little Island

“This year’s ULI Americas Awards for Excellence winners represent a diverse group of projects that share in common a responsiveness to the needs in our communities,” said Ben Tranel, principal at global architecture firm Gensler and chair of the 2023 ULI Americas Awards for Excellence jury. “Our built environment reflects our values and priorities, and the final award winners demonstrate innovation and excellence in the criteria established for the award.  It was a privilege and an honor to work with my fellow jurors and the amazing team at ULI to select these winners from among all the well-qualified finalists.”

ULI Americas Awards for Excellence finalists were selected by a multidisciplinary jury of ULI members, including experts in development, finance, planning, urban design, architecture, and landscape architecture. In addition to Tranel, the 2023 jury includes Nathalie Beauvais, climate resiliency lead/architecture & planning, HDR, Inc., Boston, Mass.; Andy Bush, founder and managing partner, Morgan Creek Ventures, Boulder, CO.; Michael Cochran, managing director, Eastdil Secured, New York, N.Y.; Andrew Garrett, senior principal, real estate, IMCO, Toronto, Ontario; Lucia Garsys, senior advisor for community partnerships, Hillsborough County Government, Tampa, Fla.; Nicole Horst, principal partner, landscape architect, Wenk Associates, Inc. Denver, CO.; Vicki Mullins, executive vice president, finance, Brookfield Properties Development, Dallas, Texas; Kimberly Pexton, senior vice president, sustainability, JBG SMITH Properties, Bethesda, Md.; Darrell Thomas, managing principal, Strategic Realty Partners, Atlanta, Ga.; Danielle Tillman, managing principal, bKL Architecture, Chicago, Ill.; Douglas Voigt, partner, Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, Chicago, Ill.; and Matt Williams, principal, landscape architect, O2 Planning and Design, Inc., Calgary, Alberta.