HUNTERS POINT SOUTH PARK WINS COVETED URBAN LAND INSTITUTE'S 2025 AMERICAS AWARD FOR EXCELLENCE
WASHINGTON – Ten developments from across North America have been selected as winners of the Urban Land Institute’s (ULI) 2025 ULI Americas Awards for Excellence including Hunter’s Point South Park.
ULI began the Awards for Excellence program in 1979 to recognize superior development efforts in the private, public, and nonprofit sectors. Winning projects represent the highest standards of achievement in the land use profession and encompass a wide range of land uses, sizes, investments, and geographic locations.
The awards are open to projects and programs in the ULI Americas region that are substantially complete, financially viable, and in stable operation. The program evaluates submissions on overall excellence, including achievements in marketplace acceptance, design, planning, technology, amenities, economic impact, management, community engagement, innovation, and sustainability, among others.
This year, 94 projects and programs from across the Americas region were submitted for the competition. From this impressive field, the 15-member jury composed of development, finance, planning, urban design, architecture, and landscape architecture experts selected 18 finalists.
The 2025 ULI Americas Awards for Excellence winners include:
Tom Balsley, Principal Designer and Landscape Architect of Hunters Point South Park had the following comment:
“What began as our Vision Plan for Queens West in 1993 led to global design awards for Gantry Plaza State Park and now MOMA and the ULI Americas Award for Excellence for Hunter’s Point South Park.
A few weeks ago I was joined by Rob Basch and our local officials to present the park, its stories, and community impacts in person to the impressed ULI jurors! As the designer, these awards are important, but nothing satisfies me more than to visit the park to see how it has touched so many lives.”
Rob Basch, President of the Board of Hunters Point Parks Conservancy stated:
“We are honored that ULI has recognized Hunters Point South Park. Our park is hugely important to our community. It is a space where communities can come together, enjoy celebrations and cultural activities and also have space for relaxation.
Community engagement is one of the important missions used to evaluate this award and Hunters Point South Park certainly meets this goal.”
Jessica Sechrist, Executive Director of Hunters Point Parks Conservancy stated:
“Our community knows how important Hunter’s Point South Park is to the neighborhood, so we’re honored to see it recognized at this level. We’re extremely proud to support a space that can serve as a model for resilient waterfront design while also serving the needs of a rapidly growing neighborhood.
ABOUT HUNTERS POINT PARKS CONSERVANCY:
The Hunters Point Parks Conservancy (HPPC) is a community-based non-profit organization whose mission is to enrich the quality of life in Hunters Point, Long Island City by preserving and enhancing its parks, green spaces, and waterfront in partnership with the community. Formed in 1998 as Friends of Gantry Plaza State Park, the organization expanded its mission and scope in 2013 with the opening of Hunter’s Point South Park and has been operating as HPPC since. In 2024, HPPC-run volunteer groups removed 1,485 bags of weeds from Hunter’s Point South Park.
The public can view the winners, finalists, and submissions HERE: https://americas.uli.org/programs/awards-competitions/uli-americas-awards-for-excellence
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