For more than four decades, the Urban Land Institute has identified excellence in real estate and land use through awards that highlight projects and people.
Programs range in geographic scale; at the global level, the ULI Prize for Visionaries in Urban Development awards $100,000 to a person who has established farsighted standards of excellence in land use and development. The ULI Global Awards for Excellence highlight the very best in urban development around the world. At the Americas, Asia Pacific, and Europe levels, ULI delivers the regional Awards for Excellence, recognizing the best regional land use and development projects and teams, and the ULI Hines Student Competition, providing a rich educational experience to graduate students studying urban design and development.
In the Americas region, under the auspices of the Terwilliger Center, ULI Americas runs three award programs focused on housing: the Jack Kemp Excellence in Affordable and Workforce Housing Award and the Terwilliger Center Award for Innovation in Attainable Housing honor developments that expand housing opportunities in their communities; and the Robert C. Larson Housing Policy Leadership Award recognizes innovative state and local policy initiatives that support the creation and preservation of affordable and workforce housing.
“Every year, I’m inspired, seeing all the projects and policies that are submitted for the ULI housing awards,” says J. Ronald Terwilliger, jury chair, founder of the ULI Terwilliger Center for Housing, and longtime ULI member. “The complexity and creativity of the work being done around housing across the country make for engaging conversations and difficult decisions during our jury meetings.”
District Councils with local award programs for individuals or real estate projects include: Austin, Atlanta, Baltimore, Chicago, Colorado, Houston, Nashville, New York, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Southeast Florida/Caribbean, and Washington, D.C. This is just a sample of award programming at the local level.
Jury participation
All these programs rely on the contributions of ULI members who donate their time and expertise as jurors and, often, cover the cost of their travel to support the awards. There are various pathways to becoming a juror. Members can explore opportunities on navigator.uli.org, or email [email protected] or their national or local District Council to express interest. A list of awards programs and contact information is available at uli.org/awards.
Because the opportunities are limited, ULI typically seeks Full Members who have a history of engagement with ULI and more than 15 years of experience in their discipline. At the regional and global levels, jurors who represent a range of disciplines and have broad experience in several markets are critical to jury success. ULI strives to convene juries that are diverse, in support of the organization’s diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) goals.
Women are leading the selection process for some of ULI’s most illustrious awards. Candace Damon, chair of the board at HR&A, served as 2023 jury chair for the ULI Prize. Sophie Henley-Price, of STUDIOS Architecture in Paris, served as the chair of the 2022 ULI Global Awards for Excellence jury, and Marilynn Davis of HR&A served as the chair of the 2022 ULI Americas Awards for Excellence jury. Lynn Carlton of Burns & McDonnell and Geeti Silwal of Perkins & Will were chairs of the 2022 and 2023 ULI Hines Student Competition juries, respectively.
The jury experience varies, depending on the program. For the ULI Prize, a smaller group of five jurors independently reviews bios for a short list of candidates and then meets once to deliberate and determine the laureate.
For the ULI Hines Student Competition in the Americas, jurors devote hours of pre-work to reviewing student submissions—comprehensive proposals consisting of designs, narrative content, and development pro formas. They then convene virtually in small groups, and as a whole jury, to hash out which four teams will make it to the finals. The same jury travels to the site of the competition to hear the finalists present and then selects the winner.
The Americas Awards for Excellence jury level of effort is similar, but instead of traveling to one location, these jurors often visit at least two project sites in one or more cities, which can be in the U.S., Canada, or Mexico. During the visit, jurors meet with representatives from the project sponsor, designers, and often tenants and community members. This effort provides a third-party verification of application materials the team submitted, adding an important element to why the awards are so trusted in the industry.
Marilynn Davis
Senior Advisor, HR&A Advisors, Atlanta, Georgia
(chair of the 2022 ULI Americas Awards for Excellence jury and member of the jury in 2021 and 2022)
It is difficult to overstate the breadth of experience, knowledge, and insights that such a thoughtfully curated collection of jurors brought to the consideration of candidates for the Awards for Excellence in the Americas. It was an honor to join in these deliberations, first as a juror and, later, as chair, as we pondered both the promise of the built environment to transform cities and inspire their citizens. To be able to subsequently participate in highlighting an even smaller group of projects that showcased global excellence, as part of the global jury, was the capstone to an experience that was both intellectually stimulating and professionally enriching.
David Crabtree
Design Principal, HiveWorkshop, Winter Park, Florida
(member of the ULI Americas Awards for Excellence Jury in 2021 and 2022)
The site visits, deep dive applicant interviews, and well-put-together case stories made it easy to share those learned lessons with our own clients and ongoing projects. This enriching experience also filtered its way back into our local and regional ULI councils for further amplification of our collective creative placemaking goals. Most importantly, the ability to collaborate with a cross-section of industry professionals on the jury was a highlight that fostered other long-lasting relationships and cross learning from their diverse perspectives. And, oh, by the way, traveling to see inspiring world-class projects with other amazing jurors makes for an incredible experience.
Terence Cooper
Foxgate Capital, Houston, Texas
(member of the ULI Hines Student Competition jury in 2022 and 2023)
Serving as a ULI Hines Student Competition juror brought a renewed appreciation for the value of teamwork. As talented as each individual jury member was, these individual strengths were buttressed by other team members’ strong contributions. The jury brought complementary skillsets and experiences across the spectrum of real estate development to best evaluate competitors’ submissions. The same “power of teamwork” was observed in the most successful student teams: five incredibly talented individuals contributing a diverse skillset to solve one real estate development puzzle.
In … past years, I have reached out to fellow jurors, and jurors have reached out to me as a sounding board to think through an issue or to help make a local connection on a real estate project. There is nothing like an intensive yet enjoyable experience to start a strong relationship.
Andy Bush
Founder and Managing Partner, Morgan Creek Ventures, Boulder, Colorado
(member of the ULI Americas Awards for Excellence juries in 2022 and 2023)
Participating in the ULI awards program as a jurist is the ultimate ULI benefit. You get to … give to the organization, but what you get in return is so much more. Having participated in the jury for two years, it’s something that I look forward to as one of my most important professional benefits, and I’ve had the opportunity to meet and collaborate with two wonderful groups of professionals. It is one of the most professionally curated awards programs that I have ever been involved in. Thank you, ULI staff! I can honestly say, it has been one of the highlights of my career.
Kim Abreu
Senior Vice President, U.S. Bank, Miami, Florida
(chair of the ULI Southeast Florida Vision Awards jury, 2022–2023, and member, 2017–2019; member of the ULI Hines Student Competition jury, 2021–2022)
As a lender, I typically see the project plans, budget, and pro forma after all the blood, sweat, and tears that it took to get the project to the point of capitalization. It was fascinating to see how both the student teams in the ULI Hines competition and the project teams submitting to the ULI Southeast Florida Vision Awards put multidisciplinary teams together to solve a problem. There were numerous paths to take and ideas on how to solve the problem, but the stakeholders ultimately had to work together to deliver a project that was feasible, profitable, and good for the community. I was enriched by the coordination it took to balance those three pillars.
Jamie Weinbaum
CEO and President, Horning, Washington, D.C.
(cochair of the ULI Washington Leadership Award jury, 2023)
My favorite part of serving on the jury was the deliberation process, and how measured and insightful the jury pool was. People spent a great deal of time digging into the backgrounds and philosophies of the nominees to ensure that their experience and their character are reflective of the values we wanted to recognize at the awards ceremony. As a result of this strategic and intentional process, we had wonderful nominees who our jury and our membership base could be proud to honor.
Barbara Mullenex, AIA
Principal and Executive Director, Perkins Eastman, Washington, D.C.
(ULI Washington Project Awards jury member, 2020 and 2023)
Being a juror is an exceptional way to connect with ULI members of different generations and from different fields of expertise, such as architecture, planning, finance, underwriting, real estate, and brokerage. Everyone has input into whether the projects being considered demonstrated something truly innovative or unusually complex. That might have involved economic challenges, approval challenges, financial challenges, or pivotal community impact. Each juror brings his or her own expertise that informs the process, and sometimes an inside story or history a juror brings to the discussion adds a compelling
perspective.
Alan George
Principal, Nauset Investments, Orleans, Massachusetts
(Terwilliger Center Awards jury, 2018–2023)
I find serving on the jury to be a fascinating opportunity to learn, in depth, the different ways workforce/affordable housing is conceived/funded and finally developed. The number of dedicated people who slog through the myriad of challenges of navigating the approval process/raising capital/obtaining debt is amazing, and their dedication is remarkable. I always come away energized and having learned a great deal about the different ways to get these projects done.
Michael Phillips
Principal and President, Jamestown, New York, New York
(ULI Prize jury member, 2023)
We often learn through the excellence of others. Serving on the jury enables you to engage with industry leaders at the forefront of innovation in urban development. From the award nominees to the other jury members, it’s a learning exchange at the highest level of the industry.
Reviewing the work of the ULI Prize nominees was inspiring and energizing. It was a reminder of the myriad ways thoughtful urban development can create meaningful good in our communities.
Jane Jenkins
Principal, Jane Jenkins Resources, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
(ULI Americas Awards for Excellence jury, 2021–2022)
Jury service opened my world to the many varieties of sizes and scopes of projects around the globe. It was fascinating to see the impact of ULI on various communities. As I tend to work more in the relationship and impact field, because of my jury service, I am now much more knowledgeable about the technical challenges of a project. I also learned how integrated the projects need to be in relation to the broader goals of the local government.
Ong Choon Fah
Adjunct professor, NUS Cities, National University of Singapore, Singapore
(ULI Asia Pacific Awards for Excellence, 2019–2022; ULI Hines Student Competition, Asia Pacific, 2023)
My favorite part of serving on the jury is being inspired by the ingenuity of stakeholders in turning challenges into opportunities to create better communities. That ULI awards are mission-driven underpins the common ground for us to collectively shape the future of the built environment to create positive impact on communities, one award at a time.
KB Albert Chan
Director of Planning and Development, Group Chief, Sustainability Officer, Shui On Land, Shanghai, China
(ULI Asia Pacific Awards for Excellence jury member, 2022 and 2023; ULI Global Awards for Excellence jury chair, 2023)
ULI jury service allowed me the opportunity to review world-class developments and innovative land uses. Through info sharing and debate process of various award candidate projects, I gained a much deeper understanding of what types and levels of excellence a development can achieve, and what each project did to excel. Being a juror also facilitated me to meet experts [in] various fields of land use.
The jury debate enlightened and enlarged my worldview of what constitutes development excellence.
Karolina Kaim
Chief Executive Officer, Blueprint Group, Warsaw, Poland
(ULI Europe Awards for Excellence jury member, 2021–2023)
I have always been interested in changing status quo. One building, a single property, possesses the potential to ignite transformation across an entire district. From the evolution from dilapidation to modernity, and from shabbiness to trendiness—particularly evident in Poland—numerous successful urban tales stem from a wellspring of inspiration. For me, the Urban Land Institute has been an abundant source of myriad ideas for more than a decade.
Sigrid Duhamel
Chairwoman of the Board of DDEPKI,
Paris, France
(ULI Europe Awards for Excellence jury, 2021–2023; ULI Global Awards for Excellence jury, 2022–2023)
At ULI awards meetings, considering the background, experience, professionalism, and location of each of the jury members, the quality of analysis and ability to understand the complexity of the projects are at incredibly high standards. I can hardly imagine any other organization capable of gathering that.
Xiao Zheng
Principal,
SWA, Laguna Beach, California
(ULI Americas Awards for Excellence jury, 2021 and 2022)
Coming from a design background, I feel my jury service was invaluable for gaining different perspectives on development from diverse individuals outside of the design profession, including investors, developers, and members of governmental agencies. Being able to listen to their stories, while collaboratively reviewing projects, helped [me] to understand different viewpoints about development in a more holistic manner. We were able to evaluate projects not just in terms of their design and planning, but [also] through their impacts and larger context, including issues of equity, sustainability, community impact, and other important considerations.
Lucia Garsys
Advisor on Community Partnerships, Hillsborough County, Florida
(2023 ULI Americas Awards for Excellence jury)
It was truly gratifying to see so many inspiring and innovative projects. Creative sustainability solutions, attention to equity, and design excellence make me optimistic about the communities of our future. Reflecting on one’s own values in the evaluation process can become a challenge, but it is incredibly rewarding to engage with insightful ULI professionals in the debates. It is how ULI rolls.
Benedict Tranel
Principal, Gensler, San Francisco, California
(2023 ULI Americas Awards for Excellence jury chair; 2021–2022 jury member)
The dialogue with the other jurors, the review of the projects with the applicants, and the quality of the process all provide a great networking experience and even more so a great source of inspiration for creating great built environments.
Riki Nishimura
Principal, Populous, San Francisco, California
(ULI Hines Student Competition jury member, 2022–2023)
While providing my insights and expertise as a member of the ULI Hines Student Competition Jury, I often found myself inspired by [the students’] unique approaches, and [their] solutions and learning with every project. Witnessing each of the teams’ growth and adaptability to our feedback during the process was a reminder of why such competitions are invaluable for the industry. It was a privilege to serve on the jury.
GRETCHEN SWEENEY is ULI’s vice president for awards and university programs.
