23rd Annual Chicago Neighborhood Development Awards Honor Top Community Projects
Published: February 28, 2017
Maurice Jones, LISC's president and CEO, addresses a crowd of more than 1,500 people at the 23rd Annual Chicago Neighborhood Development Awards ceremony.
Eric Young Smith
More than 1,500 community developers, architects, business leaders, neighborhood advocates and elected officials gathered at McCormick Place on Tuesday, February 28 for the 23rd Annual Chicago Neighborhood Development Awards (CNDA). Nine organizations and two individuals were honored for their achievements in community development and architectural design.
The ceremony, organized by Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC) Chicago, is a rare occasion in which all of the contributors to neighborhood redevelopment – community organizers, real estate developers, architects, bankers, residents, foundation and corporate leaders, elected officials and others – are in the same room to recognize and celebrate Chicago’s top real estate development and architectural design projects in the city’s neighborhoods.
In addition, this year marked the 20th Anniversary of the Richard H. Driehaus Foundation Award for Architectural Excellence in Community Design.
As usual, the awards saluted a wide range of real estate projects and neighborhood organizing efforts, ranging from an extraordinary youth and family center in East Garfield Park, to a new shopping center in the heart of Englewood. Also acknowledged were community organizing initiatives in Chicago Lawn and Albany Park designed to maintain a dependable supply of affordable housing. Saint Anthony Hospital was saluted for its consistent delivery of mental health services in recent years, and the Near North Unity Program for its Quality-of-Life planning and design guidelines.
The Architectural Excellence awards went to firms that designed new space for the Lakeview Pantry, the new branch of the Chicago Public Library in Chinatown, and new rental apartments on the site previously occupied by the Cabrini Green public housing project.
And two individuals were honored. Architect Thomas H. Beeby, who chairs the 14-member jury that selects the winners of the Richard H. Driehaus Foundation Award for Architectural Excellence in Community Design, received the Richard M. Daley Friend of the Neighborhoods Award. Raven Smith received the PrivateBank Norman Bobins Leadership Award for creating Straight From The Go, a campaign to emphasize the positive elements of life in Chicago neighborhoods.
“For more than two decades the Chicago Neighborhood Development Awards and the Richard H. Driehaus Foundation Award for Architectural Excellence in Community Design have celebrated Chicago’s neighborhoods,” said LISC Chicago Executive Director Meghan Harte. “Community development by definition is neither easy or fast, but the people and organizations who do this work in our neighborhoods have succeeded in making progress. At CNDA, we stop briefly to recognize and celebrate individual achievements and the communities that together we have created by design.”
The awards ceremony was preceded by a panel discussion around this year’s theme, “Communities by Design,” in which panelists discussed what design means in creating strong, sustainable neighborhoods.
Here is a complete list of CNDA23 award winners:
The Chicago Community Trust Outstanding Community Plan Award
Near North Unity Program for Near North Quality-of-Life and Design Guidelines
The Richard H. Driehaus Foundation for Outstanding Non-Profit Neighborhood Real Estate Project Award
Breakthrough for The Breakthrough FamilyPlex
The Polk Bros. Foundation Affordable Rental Housing Preservation Award
Chicago Metropolitan Housing Development Corporation for Renters Organizing Ourselves to Stay
The Outstanding For-Profit Neighborhood Real Estate Project Award
DL3 Realty for Englewood Square
The Woods Fund Chicago Power of Community Award
Southwest Organizing Project for Reclaiming Southwest Chicago Campaign
The Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois Healthy Community Award
Saint Anthony Hospital Mental Health Services
The Richard H. Driehaus Foundation Award for Architectural Excellence in Community Design
1st Place – Wheeler Kearns Architects for Lakeview Pantry
2nd Place – Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP for Chicago Public Library – Chinatown Branch
3rd Place – Landon Bone Baker Architects for Terrace 459 at Parkside of Old Town
The Richard M. Daley Friend of the Neighborhoods Award
Thomas H. Beeby
The PrivateBank Norman Bobins Leadership Award
Raven Smith
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