AUSTIN, Texas – August 30, 2024 – ULI Austin, an education, research and resource organization focused on shaping the future of the built environment for transformative impact in communities worldwide, has announced the recipients of its 2024 Impact Awards.

The Impact Awards, presented on Aug. 27 at ZACH Theatre, recognized and celebrated projects and people throughout Greater Austin that exemplify ULI’s mission. The annual awards include honors in a number of competitive project award categories, as well as people-of-the-year award categories. Serving as the project jurors for this year’s Impact Awards were Gary Farmer, President of Heritage Title Company of Austin, Inc. and recipient of ULI Austin 2018 Vision Award; Jeffrey Travillion, Commissioner, Travis County; and Amy Wanamaker, Director of Real Estate at the University of Texas at Austin.

Following are recipients of the five competitive project awards:

Most Influential Project – Travis County Civil & Family Courts Facility

This award recognizes a completed project that creates a positive impact beyond its immediate borders and energizes the development of the surrounding community, resulting in a lasting effect on the built environment. Nominated projects included (green and asterisk indicates finalists):

Dell Jewish Community Center*

Eastside Early College High School*

Travis County Civil & Family Courts Facility*

Zilker Studios*

Best Project Innovation – Community First! Pavilion 

This award highlights originality and creativity in development and can include aspects of design, place-making, supporting public transit, sustainability, financing, innovative land use or community planning or other inventive features. Nominated projects included (green and asterisk indicates finalists):

301 Congress Avenue

4000 Medical Parkway*

Community First! Pavilion*

St. John Encampment Commons*

Travis County Civil & Family Courts Facility*

Zilker Studios

Best Project Design – Texas Children’s Hospital North Campus

This award recognizes a completed project which demonstrates excellence in design that exemplifies or supports ULI’s mission. Nominated projects included (green and asterisk indicates finalists):

301 Congress Avenue*

1515 E. Cesar Chavez*

Dell Jewish Community Center*

Nix Patterson

Texas Children’s Hospital North Campus*

Uptown Sports Club

Best Public Place – St. John Encampment Commons

This award recognizes a completed project that provides the public with enhanced civic, open or public space access or experiences. The project may be public sector, non-profit, public/private partnership or entirely private sector, as long as the space itself is generally open to the public without charge. Nominated projects included (green and asterisk indicates finalists):

301 Congress Avenue

Community First! Pavilion*

Dell Jewish Community Center*

Round Rock Public Library

Skyline Park

St. John Encampment Commons*

Travis County Civil & Family Courts Facility*

Next Big Idea – Brodie Oaks Redevelopment

This award recognizes innovative ideas that can positively impact the region’s quality of life. This can be an upcoming project, master planning effort, redevelopment program, policy or an ‘idea’ that will transform our industry and our community. Nominated projects included (green and asterisk indicates finalists):

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ULI Austin Announces 2024 Impact Award Winners, page 3-4

Austin ISD Repurposing Land*

Austin Small Developer Training

Brodie Oaks Redevelopment*

Equitable Transit-Oriented Development (ETOD) Strategy Study

Great Springs Project

Highpoint at 2222*

The Ivory

Old 6^th*

Rally Austin

Following are recipients of the three people-of-the-year awards:

Influence Award – David Steinwedell, Affordable Central Texas

Member of the Year – Michele Van Hyfte, HOK

Young Leader of the Year – Olivia Pitt-Perez, Coleman & Associates

The top individual honor, ULI Austin’s Vision Award, was given to Sinclair Black, FAIA, Principal at Black + Motal (formerly known as Black + Vernooy). A native of San Antonio, Black is an urban designer, planner, architect, educator and author. He’s regarded as an Austin visionary for his innovative and wide-ranging work in architecture and urban design spanning over five decades. Black’s design work is grounded in years of study of the vernacular architecture of Central Texas and strives to preserve and celebrate the particulars of the region. He has concentrated on the cultivation of sensitive, client-responsive architecture that is appropriate to human scale and local building history. Throughout his illustrious career, Black has been involved with some of Austin’s most noteworthy projects, including the 2^nd Street District, Cedar Street Courtyard and Reconnect Austin. His work has resulted in over 30 local and national design awards for projects such as Central Market at Central Park, the Great Streets Master Plan for 306 blocks of Downtown Austin and as “Best in Show” winner of the City Municipal Office Complex National Design Competition. Through these and many other forward-looking public works, Black has helped shape Austin into a major, innovative American city. He is also a professor emeritus at The University of Texas School of Architecture and the retired Roberta P. Crenshaw Centennial Professorship in Urban Design and Environmental Planning and is deeply involved in the community affairs of Austin and has achieved widespread recognition for his efforts on behalf of the city’s natural and man-made environments. Black has served in a volunteer advisory capacity for numerous projects and non-profit boards, such as the Town Lake Beautification Committee, Trust for Public Land, the Downtown Austin Alliance and the Urban Land Institute, Austin.

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ULI Austin Announces 2024 Impact Award Winners, page 4-4

 “We are pleased to recognize the outstanding ULI Austin members, as well as the diverse, impactful real estate projects across Central Texas, that successfully reflect our mission of shaping the future of the built environment for transformative impact in our communities,” said Paulette Gibbins, Executive Director of ULI Austin.

As part of ULI’s global mission priority of decarbonizing the real estate sector and accelerating our progress to net zero, ULI Austin is partnering with Austin Green Awards. The Austin Green Awards program aims to highlight a next generation of sustainably inspired best practices and heighten the visibility of a broad spectrum of exemplary initiatives in Austin. Each year, Austin Green Awards recognizes projects that highlight outstanding accomplishments in the broad arena of sustainable design and innovation and one project is chosen as Project of the Year. This year’s Austin Green Awards will be awarded on October 23. Applications for the awards close on September 16. At future Impact Awards, the winners of the Austin Green Awards will be highlighted.

For additional information about the 2024 Impact Awards, including competitive projects and member-of-the-year recipients, visit: https://austin.uli.org/events/events-impact-awards/.

About ULI Austin:

The Urban Land Institute (ULI) is a member-led organization shaping the future of the built environment for transformative impact in communities worldwide. ULI is a network of people in every profession and sector in real estate development and land use from all over the world and in every career stage. While global in scope, ULI is local in impact through sharing knowledge and making connections. The Austin District Council was founded in 1994 and now includes over 1100 members. Our members are involved in all aspects of the development and city planning process – private, public, and nonprofit. For more information, visit Austin.ULI.org.

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