ULI Awards, and the winners are. . .
By: J. David Chapman/February 16, 2017
The Urban Land Institute has had a huge influence on development in Oklahoma in its first 10 years.
For the past three years, ULI Oklahoma has awarded Impact Awards to the most deserving projects. I am honored to serve as a judge, and even though ULI leadership gives us a clear rubric in evaluating the nominees, this may be the most difficult evaluation I make all year. The decisions were difficult again this year with a host of great projects and developments nominated.
In the Outstanding Community Building Effort, the Wheeler District was honored for the Wheeler Ferris wheel, Wind Wall, and O-K-C sculpture. Very deserving, considering its focus in tourist photos that show up on social media and national TV broadcast spots. Congrats to Blair Humphreys.
In the Boutique Development category, Midtown Renaissance’s Midtown Walker Retail redevelopment was honored for creating a walkable shopping and entertainment area, leveraging placemaking activity and improvements made to the public realm such as sidewalks, streetscape, and parking.
Additionally, in the Small Scale Rehabilitation category, the 1100 N. Broadway project was honored for restoring the abandoned Pontiac Building in Automobile Alley into an unusually diverse multi-tenant building. Kudos to Mickey Clagg and Chris Fleming.
For the Small Scale Development category, Catholic Charities was honored. This building was built with the community in mind with the parking lot being equipped with electricity, water, a backup generator, and wireless internet to provide a place for emergency response or triage in the event of a disaster. Congrats to the Catholic Charities Board for their vision.
In the Large Scale Development category, the Metropolitan Apartments were honored. Developer and owner Bomasada Group didn’t miss a single amenity for the apartments, which are located in Automobile Alley with 329 units. Cheers to John Gilbert.
In the Large Scale Rehabilitation category, the Rise in OKC’s Uptown District was honored for restoring one of the most blighted group of buildings in the metro into a vibrant, successful urban retail shopping experience. Congrats to Johnathan Russell.
Congratulations to all those nominated and especially those who received awards, but it occurs to me that the real winners are the citizens of Oklahoma who have a great built environment and a wonderful organization such as ULI to motivate and honor those that create this environment.
J. David Chapman is an associate professor of finance and real estate at the University of Central Oklahoma (jchapman7@uco.edu).