Developments of Excellence Awards

Honoring the Region’s Boldest Planning and Development

ARC’s Development of Excellence awards recognize projects in metro Atlanta that exemplify cutting-edge, livable design that enhance the surrounding community and support the goals and policies of the Atlanta Region’s Plan, metro Atlanta’s long-range, comprehensive blueprint

Developers, local governments, and other organizations are awarded Development of Excellence Awards for visionary planning and innovative design projects that make the 10-county Atlanta region a better place to live, work, and play.

Nominations will be evaluated in one of the following categories:

• Visionary Planning: Recognizes a state-of-the-art planning initiative being implemented in a community to achieve lasting progress.
• Innovative Development: Recognizes a cutting-edge development that contributes to the region’s advancement and supports the goals and policies of the Atlanta Region’s Plan.
• Great Place: Recognizes an inspiring space that enhances a community’s character and provides options for housing, employment, or recreation.
• Livable Center: Recognizes a targeted project that significantly advances the implementation of a community’s Livable Centers Initiative plan.

The 2019 Development of Excellence Award was presented to the Kendeda Building for Innovative Sustainable Design

The Development of Excellence Awards are presented at ARC’s annual State of the Region Breakfast. Along with the Kendeda Building, these other awardees were recognized at the event on November 8, 2019:

Soccer in the Streets – Great Place

Station Soccer, a collaboration of Soccer in the Streets, MARTA, the City of Atlanta, and Atlanta United, reinvents transit stations as a public space for community activity. The transformation of unused space into soccer fields has made the sport accessible to a new generation of athletes.

City Springs – Exceptional Merit for LCI Achievement

City Springs, a mixed-use development in the heart of Sandy Spring, builds on the city’s Livable Centers Initiative (LCI) vision by transforming an aging commercial strip into a vibrant space that houses development houses Sandy Springs City Hall, shops and restaurants, a performing arts center, and the city’s central greenspace.

T3 West Midtown – Exceptional Merit for Sustainability

T3 West Midtown is a 230,000 square-foot office building in Atlantic Station developed by Hines. The name “T3” reflects the building’s primary themes: timber, transit, and technology.

Willis – Exceptional Merit for Catalytic Redevelopment

Willis is an example of how private development can catalyze the economy of a town center. The development, by South City Partners, represents a boost for the economic vision of the Avondale Estates community in DeKalb County.