Congratulations to the Winners!

ULI Philadelphia announced five winners for its 2019 Willard G. “Bill” Rouse III Awards for Excellence on Wednesday evening. Hundreds of industry professionals and leaders celebrated the region’s development accomplishments, honoring urban visionary and civic leader, Bill Rouse.

The winners, announced live at a celebration featuring John Gattuso, President & CEO of Gattuso Development Partners, are (alphabetically):

• 1800 Arch Street/Comcast Technology Center, Liberty Property Trust (Philadelphia, PA)
• 3675 Market Street, Wexford Science & Technology (Philadelphia, PA)
• American Water Headquarters, Liberty Property Trust (Camden, NJ)
• MaKen Studios North and South, Shift Capital (Philadelphia, PA)
• PHS LandCare, Pennsylvania Horticultural Society (Philadelphia, PA)

Modeled to complement the ULI Global Awards for Excellence, the Philadelphia Rouse Award winners represent excellence in achieving scale, creating significant community impact, elevating real estate standards in the city and representing models of innovation and leadership. Winners were among an impressive list of 13 finalists and selected by a national jury of 12 experts.

“Our jury thoroughly enjoyed the process of evaluating these high quality projects and learning more about Philadelphia and the region,” said Stu Ackerberg, CEO of ACKERBERG, ULI Global Governing Trustee, past Chair of the ULI Global Open Space Awards, ULI Global Awards of Excellence juror, and Chair of the 2019 ULI Philadelphia Jury. “We feel strongly that the five winners embrace the ULI mission and serve as models for us all. Congratulations to all of the finalists and winners.”

The celebration was made possible through the generous support of Legacy Sponsor, Liberty Property Trust; and Supporting Sponsors: PNC Real Estate, O’Donnell & Naccarato Structural Engineers, Urban Engineers and Wexford Science & Technology.

“ULI Philadelphia has focused on advancing excellence in land use by continuing to deliver on our mission at the local and regional levels in supporting and growing our high-quality membership base and networks,” said Paul Commito, Chair of ULI Philadelphia and Senior Vice President for Development at Brandywine Realty Trust. “The ULI Rouse Awards for Excellence program is a perfect culmination of our District Council’s progress. We proudly celebrate our region’s highest quality developments and honor the legacy of civic and real estate leader Bill Rouse. We are again grateful for the broad participation of our national jury and I want to congratulate all of the finalists and tonight’s winners.”

Award Winner Details 

1800 Arch Street/Comcast Technology Center – Developed by Liberty Property Trust in conjunction with Comcast, this bold, mixed-use building is a unique and significant statement for the City of Philadelphia and anchors an important company in center city. The project makes urban links by connecting directly to the subway system, limiting vehicular parking, and incorporating art. The building is designed to LEED platinum and elevates the delivery of spaces and quality of projects. The jury recognizes 1800 Arch Street/the Comcast Technology Center for excellence in site utilization, design and leadership in real estate.

3675 Market Street – At the epicenter of innovation and discovery, 3675 Market Street brings together the innovation elements of a Knowledge Community – a mixed tenant environment, professional workforce, economic development and spaces for entrepreneurship – into one building. The mix of tenant types is state of the art and will have economic impacts across a group of disciplines. The jury recognizes 3675 Market Street, developed by Wexford Science + Technology for excellence in technology transfer, mix of uses and real estate innovation.

American Water Headquarters – Located in the City of Camden, American Water Headquarters is a testament to quality office development that provides community returns by contributing land to the water front. This well-designed project embraces its surrounding community, incorporates a high level of sustainable practices and energy efficiencies and represents the first corporate office building in downtown Camden in decades. The jury recognizes American Water Headquarters, developed by Liberty Property Trust, for excellence in community impact, sustainability and contribution to the public realm.

MaKen Studios North and South – Located in Kensington, a neighborhood with high rates of unemployment and poverty, developer Shift Capital used all private funds to convert two old warehouse buildings into entrepreneurial studios for socially-minded makers and a community gathering space. Exhibiting appropriate design and scale, this project successfully uses market real estate to accomplish community goals and provides a replicable and admirable model. The jury recognizes MaKen Studios North and South for excellence in adaptive reuse, neighborhood revitalization and catalytic economic development.

PHS LandCare – The efficiently designed and budgeted PHS LandCare project, led by the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society, delivers philanthropic funds to green and care for one third of the vacant lots in the City; effectively creating healthier environments, providing access to nutritious food and returning land to development potential. This project demonstrates tremendous scale and replicability after over 20 years in service and documented evidence of improved resident health, safety and job creation. The jury recognizes PHS LandCare for excellence in public policy, community transformation and scale.