ULI Announces Winner of 2023 Robert C. Larson Housing Policy Leadership Award

The ULI Terwilliger Center for Housing has selected the City of Tallahassee, Florida, as the winner of the 2023 ULI Robert C. Larson Housing Policy Leadership Award.

The award was created in 2011 to honor the legacy of the late Robert C. Larson, a former ULI Foundation chairman and longtime ULI trustee. The Larson Award is part of the ULI Terwilliger Center’s housing awards program and recognizes exemplary state and local programs and policies that support the production, rehabilitation, and preservation of workforce and affordable housing.

The City of Tallahassee’s Affordable Housing Development Policies, facilitated by its Department of Housing and Community Resilience, prioritizes efforts that support the construction of new affordable housing units while also focusing on rehabilitating and enhancing existing housing inventory. The City has a catalog of options and partnerships that incentivize developers to bring housing projects across the affordability spectrum to Tallahassee. These tools provide broad spectrum reach and help stretch public dollars, creating a more sustainable, long-term affordable housing environment.

The winner is selected by a jury chaired by Ron Terwilliger, founder of the ULI Terwilliger Center and chairman of Terwilliger Pappas Multifamily Partners.

“The affordable housing crisis has extended beyond the traditional high-cost coastal markets and into communities that once were affordable—now more than ever we need to share replicable policy solutions,” said Ron Terwilliger, founder of the ULI Terwilliger Center and chair of the Terwilliger Center housing awards jury. “The Larson Award allows ULI to honor efforts led by the public sector to expand housing opportunities. On behalf of the ULI Terwilliger Center, I’d like to congratulate this year’s winner, and I hope the policies can serve as a model for smaller communities that are experiencing new and increasing pressures on their housing markets.”

Other jury members include Paul Bernard, president and CEO, Affordable Homes & Communities, Arlington, Va.; Rodger Brown, managing director of real estate development, Preservation of Affordable Housing, Boston, Mass.; Payton Chung, managing partner, Westover Green, Washington, D.C.; Vicki Davis, managing partner, Urban Atlantic, Bethesda, Maryland; Adam Ducker, CEO, RCLCO, Bethesda, Maryland; Jill Ferrari, co-founder and managing partner, Renovare Development, Ypsilanti, Michigan; Michael Francescani, senior manager, CohnReznick, Boston, Massachusetts; Sara Myerson, managing director, MSquared, Wellesley, Massachusetts.; Josh Posner, founder and CEO, Rising Tide Development, Cambridge, Massachusetts.; Stacy Silber, attorney, Lerch, Early & Brewer, Chtd., Bethesda, Maryland.; Michael Spotts, director of real estate development, Habitat for Humanity of Washington D.C. & Northern Virginia, Arlington, Virginia.; and Silvia Urrutia, founder and CEO, U Developing LLC, Phoenix, Arizona.

For questions about the ULI Terwilliger Center housing awards program, contact [email protected].