ULI reveals picks for distinctive Houston real estate developments

Urban Open Space: McGovern Centennial Gardens (Courtesy of ULI) Urban Open Space: McGovern Centennial Gardens (Courtesy of ULI) Image 1 of / 14 Caption Close ULI reveals picks for distinctive Houston real estate developments 1 / 14 Back to Gallery

Buffalo Bayou Park, Southwestern Energy's corporate campus near The Woodlands and west Houston's CityCentre complex were among the local real estate projects recognized Tuesday night with Development of Distinction awards presented by the Houston District Council of the Urban Land Institute and longtime sponsor Winstead.

The annual awards program, now in its 10th year, recognizes real estate projects and public open spaces that reflect best practices in design, construction and economic viability among other factors.

The winners:

In the For-Profit category: Town Centre Development near Town & Country Village by Moody Rambin and Queensbury.

In the Non-Profit category: MATCH (Midtown Arts and Theater Center Houston) by Jewett Consulting.

In the Urban Open Space category: The 160-acre Buffalo Bayou Park by Buffalo Bayou Partnership and the City of Houston; and the McGovern Centennial Gardens by the Hermann Park Conservancy.

In the People's Choice category: Southwestern Energy; and CityCentre by Midway received a People's Choice award of the decade.

The finalists were selected by a local panel including officials from Newland Communities, New Hope Housing, HKS Architects, Scenic Houston, BGE, Wilson Cribbs + Goren and Streetwise Retail Advisors.

A jury of three national real estate experts came to Houston to tour all finalists' projects in November and select the winners. The jury included Ed McKinney, interim planning director for the City of Charlotte, North Carolina; Robert L. Morgan, development director for Greystar Real Estate Partners in Charleston, SC; and Kim Wilson, architecture professor at University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

Finalists included the FMC Technologies campus at Generation Park; the Boys and Girls Club – Richmond-Rosenberg and the Houston Zoo: Gorillas of the African Forest.