Urban Land Institute North Florida Honors Project Winners At 2021 Awards For Excellence

JACKSONVILLE, FL – Urban Land Institute (ULI) of North Florida, the region’s leading source on urban planning, growth and development, proudly announces its award winners for the 2021 Awards for Excellence in Real Estate. Hosted at Sweet Pete’s private event space in downtown Jacksonville, more than 150 ULI North Florida members and guests attended the event.

“The Awards for Excellence was a wonderful celebration to honor one of our industry’s great leaders and to recognize the leading development projects in Jacksonville and Tallahassee,” said Patrick Krechowski, chair of the ULI North Florida District Council. “The event showcases projects throughout North Florida that represent the best practices in all aspects of real estate development, planning, design, construction and economic viability.”

The ULI North Florida District Council presented the 2021 Visionary Leader Award to Ed Burr, President and Chief Executive Officer of GreenPointe Holdings, LLC, a diversified holding company headquartered in Jacksonville that brings together the necessary disciplines to create sustainable, high-value communities. Burr is widely considered a leader in the real estate industry for his ability to analyze real estate potential and to lead companies that create unparalleled communities known for their recreational, residential and commercial value. GreenPointe is currently developing and managing 15 master-planned communities in 12 Florida counties.

Burr founded The Monique Burr Foundation for Children, Inc. in 1997, a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing the best prevention of abuse, bullying, human trafficking and digital safety education programs to protect children and teens from victimization. He received the 2021 Hearthstone BUILDER Humanitarian Award in recognition of a lifetime commitment to public service.

The ULI North Florida District Council announced the Awards for Excellence project winners, honoring exceptional development projects that exemplify ULI North Florida’s mission and values. Development teams receiving this prestigious award must demonstrate innovation, responsible use of land and beneficial community impact. The winners of the 2021 ULI North Florida Awards for Excellence by category are:

• New Development Award – Global Home of the PGA Tour, Ponte Vedra Beach – The 187,000 square-foot, three-story building brings the entire PGA organization under one roof for the first time. The project was completed using the principles of biophilic design which increase connectivity to the natural environment.

• Public Sector/Non-Profit Award – Blueprint Intergovernmental Agency, Tallahassee – Blueprint has been at the helm of the community’s most pressing infrastructure needs. Initiated by a citizens group representing various community interests and funded by a penny sales tax, the program promotes multi-use corridors, abundant greenspace, park-like regional stormwater facilities for water quality protection, alternative transit, passive recreation, and wildlife habitat.

• Reuse/Repurpose Award – Barnett National Bank Tower, Jacksonville – The 18-story tower, originally constructed in 1926, had historically been used for commercial purposes but sat vacant for 30 years. The goal of the project was to adaptively reuse the historic building as an exciting new catalyst for the redevelopment of downtown Jacksonville.

• Hospitality & Entertainment Award – Embassy Suites By Hilton, St. Augustine Beach – The development removed a dilapidated motel at a keystone site for St. Augustine Beach, replacing it with a signature structure designed to incorporate architectural elements common to the St. Augustine area with a modern aesthetic.

• Organization of Influence – Blueprint Intergovernmental Agency, Tallahassee, FL – Blueprint’s mission remains to implement voter approved projects in a timely and cost-effective manner, utilizing sound but innovative business practices, while keeping citizens informed and involved.

• Judges’ Choice Award – Ashley Street Container Lofts, Jacksonville – The unique, modern container apartments, located in the Cathedral District downtown, provide  reasonably priced housing that will assist in the ongoing efforts to revitalize downtown Jacksonville. The building features outdoor amenities including a striking mural and environmentally friendly landscaping.

• Judges’ Choice Award – Jacksonville Regional Transportation Center, Jacksonville – The JRTC is a centralized, multimodal transit hub in the historic LaVilla neighborhood and provides greater connectivity for thousands of daily transit customers. Through the facility, passengers can easily access fixed bus routes, the Skyway system, bus rapid transit lines, rideshare, micro-mobility services like e-scooters, paratransit services and intercity services like Greyhound and Megabus.

Member of the Year Award – Douglas Booher, Vice President and Counsel, Fidelity National Financial. Booher has been a member of ULI since 2016 and served as Membership chair from 2019 to 2021 as well as on the Center for Leadership Task Force in 2019 and 2021. Booher is currently serving on the Advisory Board and the ULI Florida Summit Sponsorship Committee.

The Awards for Excellence Program is the centerpiece of ULI’s efforts in North Florida to identify and promote best practices in all types of real estate development. The North Florida Region serves 34 counties from Flagler to Escambia, including Gainesville, Jacksonville, St. Augustine, Tallahassee, Panama City and Pensacola. The 2021 ULI North Florida Awards for Excellence were reviewed by an esteemed panel of independent judges from the local and national development community. The panel of judges included:

• Will Butler, President, REI InSync, Tallahassee
• Brian Canin. President, Canin Assoc., Orlando
• Christina Contreras, Principal & Founder, Living Ecology Studio/ULI Senior Fellow, Denver
• Gerry Dedenbach, Vice President, CHW, Gainesville
• Brad Lacour, President, Trident Partners, Pensacola
• Kirk Wendland, Executive Director, Office of Economic Development, City of Jacksonville

2021 ULI North Florida Awards of Excellence gold sponsors include Balfour Beatty, Downtown Investment Authority, Fidelity National Financial, Haskell, Hopping Green & Sams/Kutak Rock, JWB Real Estate Capital, Kimley Horn, Miller Electric Company, Terracon, and Trevado Development Group. The event’s silver sponsors include Driver, McAfee, Hawthorne & Diebenow, Downtown Vision, Inc., Regency Centers, Rummell Co., The Fiorentino Group and Twin Branch Corp.

For more information about ULI North Florida, please visit www.northflorida.uli.org, or contact ULI staff at 904-486-8256 or [email protected].

About ULI North Florida
The Urban Land Institute is a nonprofit education and research institute supported by its members. Its mission is to provide leadership in the responsible use of land and create and sustain thriving communities worldwide. Established in 1936, the Institute has more than 46,000 members representing all aspects of land use and development disciplines. ULI North Florida was formed in 2005 and currently has more than 525 members from Flagler to Escambia Counties, including Jacksonville, St. Augustine, Gainesville, Tallahassee, Panama City, and Pensacola. Patrick Krechowski, Partner, Balch & Bingham, is the 2021-2023 chair of the District Council, and Carolyn Clark serves as Executive Director.

More information about ULI and the North Florida District Council is available online at www.uli.org or www.northflorida.uli.org.