ULI NASHVILLE HONORS EIGHT PROJECTS WITH THIRD ANNUAL EXCELLENCE IN DEVELOPMENT AWARDS

May 11, 2011

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The Urban Land Institute’s (ULI) Nashville District Council honored eight area development projects with Excellence in Development Awards last night at the Noah Liff Opera Center. Award entries represented projects from the private and public sector, from Metro Nashville and the region.

“The ULI Excellence in Development Awards celebrate exemplary design, creativity and vision in land use and real estate development, and commitment to the Middle Tennessee community,” said Ed Owens, chairman of ULI. “These best practices should be recognized and shared.”

The winning projects were chosen for their design excellence, innovation in land use, contribution to the community, reflection of the neighborhood or regional character, their use of a public/private partnership, environmental sensitivity and financial viability.

The following projects were announced as this year’s winners, and are listed with corresponding judges’ comments and the development team:

• 12th and Paris: This project is the absolute right fit with the fabric of its urban neighborhood; it’s been a catalyst for reinvestment in its neighborhood; to have gone from a former junk yard to what now is the perfect example of the best kind of reinvestment in an urban neighborhood.
     -  Development team includes: Core Development, Delta Design Development, DA/AD, Core Construction Management, SouthLand Constructors, IDesign Services Inc., Schelton Engineering, Phillip White Engineering, Village Real Estate Services Inc.

• 1700 Midtown: Its strong modern aesthetic both reflects its urban location and sets the design trend for future reinvestment in the area; what a great, unique creative design solution to an infrastructure challenge; this is just how to do Work Force Housing using market rate financing.
     -  Development team includes: Bristol Development Group, Southeast Venture, Hodgson & Douglas, Doster Construction Company, Barge Cauthen & Associates Inc., Smith Seckman Reid Inc, Sterling Engineering, Anderson Design Studio.

• Franklin Police Headquarters: they used every cost-effective and cost-efficient tool of sustainable architecture and development; commendable decision to make a reinvestment into the disinvested part of downtown Franklin versus moving out to develop a Greenfield site; the epitome of a public/private partnership through the entire design process, through public use of the building, and through on-going education of the public on sustainable living practices and sustainable building practices.
     -  Design team includes: City of Franklin, kennon/architects, McClaren Wilson & Lawrie, Hodgson & Douglas, R. G. Anderson Company, TLC Engineering for Architecture, Barge Cauthen & Associates, EnVision Advantage, EMC Structural Engineers.

• Hotel Indigo: they went all out to find a way to make the financials work; purchased the adjacent building, used historic tax credits, used outside-the-box design, reused existing materials; supports economic development in the core with hotel rooms, workforce housing, all from buildings that had been vacant for years.
     -  Development team includes: Wesley Hotels and Resorts, Gresham, Smith and Partners, R.C. Mathews Contractor, I.C. Thomasson Associates, EMC Structural Engineers, The Lee Collections.

• Piedmont Natural Gas Tennessee Operations Center: progressive architectural and use of green building techniques are exemplary; represents a vital investment in jobs and tax-base for Metro Nashville.
     -  Development team includes: Baron+Dowdle Construction/Corporate Investors Partnership V, Baron+Dowdle Construction, Piedmont Natural Gas, C Design Inc., Barge Cauthen & Associates, The Blonder Group.

• The Sawtooth Building: Perfect example of how a user shapes the architecture and how the architecture is a reflection of the user; visionary example of sensitive adaptive reuse; exemplary reinvestment in the city for jobs and tax base; demonstrates that a demand for an urban workplace does exist.
     -  Development team includes: Holladay Properties Inc., Sawtooth Partners, DA/AD, Sandhu Consultants, Parsons Engineering Inc., Schelton Engineering, Ruth Alwes Engineering.

• Terrazzo: Real pioneer in green building in a downtown for mixed use; they faced the financial realitites and challenges of the recession and came out strong; industry-leading green building practices.
     -  Development team includes: Crosland Tennessee, City Development Company, Canyon Capital Realty Advisors, Hastings Architecture Associates, Manuel Zeitlin Architects, Hawkins Partners Inc., The Parent Company, Civil Site Design Group, Smith Seckman Reid Inc., EMC Structural Engineers.

• Westhaven: One of the best examples of traditional neighborhood design; demonstrated a livable community with highest architecture and design aesthetics; its community foundation is innovative and an impressive example of public/private partnership; demonstrates a deep support for community beyond the built form.
     -  Development team: Southern Land Company

Judges for the ULI Nashville 2011 Excellence in Development Awards were Richard M. Rosan, president of Urban Land Institute; William Gilchrist, director of place-based planning for the City of New Orleans; and Richard C. Ward, vice president of Zimmer Real Estate Services and manager of its St. Louis office.

About ULI
The Urban Land Institute (ULI) www.uli.org is a nonprofit research and education organization supported by its members worldwide. The ULI Nashville District Council’s priority is to serve as a convener and collaborator, providing a forum for exchange of ideas and education about best practices in land use for Middle Tennessee’s public, private, educational and nonprofit real estate and land-use community. It has a diverse membership of more than 200 professionals including architects, land planners, engineers, developers, Realtors®, public officials, academicians and attorneys.