The Vision Award

The highlight of each Impact Award event is the presentation of our prestigious Vision Award to a person or persons who has made a true Impact upon our Dallas-Fort Worth industry and region, and meets a set of rigorous standards.

The Vision Award recipient must be an individual in the field of real estate development or a related sector area such as finance, planning, design or who has made an outstanding contribution in his or her lifetime to the built environment of the Metroplex and it’s surrounding cities, and adhere to the following criteria:

• 20 Years minimum industry impact
• Lasting contribution to the built environment in one or more communities in the North Texas region (minimum of 3 examples)
• Innovation and creativity
• Community Leadership
• Community service

Previous recipients of the ULI Dallas-Fort Worth’s Vision Award include H. Ross Perot and Ross Perot Jr. (2015), the legacy of Trammell and Margaret Crow (2016), Herbert Weitzman (2017), Roger Staubach (2018), Craig Hall (2019), and most recently Steve Van Amburgh (2021.)

 The Impact Awards

In addition to the Vision Award, ULI Dallas-Fort Worth honors 4 regional developments/projects with an Impact Award from one of five distinct categories.

Applications for these awards are reviewed by a jury of experienced ULI members from across the US, representing multiple disciplines within real estate. The categories and their criteria are as listed below:

• Innovation: Recognizes originality and creativity in design, placemaking, support for transit use, green techniques, financing (including public/private partnerships), innovative land use or community planning, or other development features.
• Influence:  Seeks a project, policy or program that creates a positive impact beyond its immediate borders or catalyzes the development of the surrounding community, resulting in a lasting positive effect on the built environment.
• Public Place:  Highlights a public sector, non-profit, public/private partnership or privately funded project providing the public enhanced civic, open or public space access or experiences.
• Social Impact: Spotlighting real estate projects that focus on making positive social impact on communities and/or individuals, these developments are recognized for providing social services such as housing, health care, education and/or income growth opportunities that otherwise might not be available.
• Next Big Idea:  Submissions do not have to be completed projects! We seek innovative ideas that can positively impact the region’s quality of life, such as improving the quality of the built environment, the way in which planning and development are conducted, construction affordability, financing or other aspects of development.  What would make our region more resilient? More enjoyable?

Proceeds from the gala benefit educational and volunteer programs of ULI Dallas-Fort Worth’s District Council including our UrbanPlan and UP4PO (Urban Plan for Public Officials) programs, Technical Assistance Panels (TAPs) for municipalities, our Building Industry Leaders career mentoring program offered in cooperation with the Boys and Girls Clubs in Dallas and Fort Worth, and programs like RE:Generation and Pathways to Inclusion.