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ULI Dallas-Fort Worth's 2021 Impact Awards: Press Release
December 15, 2021
The Dallas-Fort Worth District Council of the Urban Land Institute honored development icon Steve Van Amburgh of KDC with its prestigious Vision Award on Wednesday, October 20th, 2021.
Over 400 of the region’s real estate leaders packed the Grand Ballroom of the Renaissance Dallas Hotel at their first major in-person event since 2019 to salute Van Amburgh’s real estate career and leadership. Throughout his 30+ years of work in DFW community and across the country, Van Amburgh has leveraged his relationships to deliver projects that reflect the specific operational and human resource requirements of each client company.
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Todd Maclin (Left) & Steve Van Amburgh (Right)
Following the presentation of the Vision Award, Steve and his long-time friend Todd Maclin, head of Maclin Management and former Vice Chairman of JPMorgan Chase, held a lively, wide-ranging conversation. The two friends spoke not only of Steve’s long-term involvement in projects that have shaped the Dallas-Fort Worth real estate market, but also his commitment to supporting organizations dedicated to community outreach. Steve is passionate about putting people first in every effort that he and the company undertake.
As recognition of Steve’s commitment to community impact as part of the work KDC does, custom centerpieces of paper, pencils, and printer ink cartridges were donated to Youth Believing in Change.
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Presenter Will Pender (Adolfson & Peterson Construction) and Awardees for the Innovation Category: Daniel Pittcock (Allen ISD), and Sloan Harris (VLK Architects)
Impact Awards Recognize Impactful Developments
The Impact Awards presentations highlighted some of DFW’s newest high-profile developments. The finalists and winners of these awards were selected by a five-person jury comprised of experienced ULI members from around the country.
In the Innovation category, the award went to the Allen ISD STEAM Center, a 111K sf education facility offering an interconnected approach to science, technology, arts, and math education. Woven into a diverse site of forest and prairie the Steam Center was purposefully designed by VLK Architects to provide an innovative learning environment for students ranging from kindergarten through high school. Other finalists were the AT&T Discovery District, submitted by Gensler and Legacy Central, submitted by BOKA Powell.
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Presenter, Dr. Eric Johnson (City of Dallas) and Awardees for the Public Places Category: Jim Shipley (The BECK Group), and Todd Awe (TAG Realty Management)
The evening’s next award was in the Public Places category. The jury selected the West End Square urban park submitted by the Beck Group. The Beck Group worked with Parks for Downtown Dallas and the City of Dallas to create a unique greenspace in the West End Historic District. The Square creates a neighborhood park for the district’s growing population and was a testing ground for incorporating technology in a public space. The design created two unique environments: The Frame, which is a U-shaped canopy that incorporates flexible plug and play technology, and the Prairie Gardens, which fill the interior of the Square with organically shaped planting beds and seating. Other Public Places finalists were Globe Life Field, submitted by HKS, Inc. and the Downtown Roanoke Development and Public Improvement District, submitted by the City of Roanoke.
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Presenter, Paris Rutherford (Catalyst Urban Development) and Awardee for the Influence Category: Peter Brodsky (Owner & Developer of RedBird Mall), and Terrence Maiden (Russell Glen Co.)
With the Influence Award, the ULI jury recognizes developments that have a positive impact beyond their own borders. The winner of the Influence Award was RedBird, submitted by the Russell Glen Company. RedBird represents the re-imagining of a former regional mall into a mixed-use development that provides high quality amenities, including restaurants, retail, entertainment, offices, luxury apartment homes, hotels and medical facilities. This project is delivering desired and deserved resources to a community that has been long underserved. The ULI Jury commented: “The impact of this redevelopment cannot be understated. The developers have taken the time to understand the community and the market and are creating a textbook example of what a revitalized mall can become.” The other finalists in the Influence category included The Arlington ISD Arts Center, submitted by HKS, and The National, submitted by Merriman Anderson Architects.
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Presenter, Brent Sparks (HKS) and Awardee for the Social Impact Category: Mike Rosamond (KDC)
The Social Impact Award was created to the recognize exceptional projects aimed at alleviating serious community needs. The winner of the Social Impact Award was “KDC Giving Back”, submitted by KDC. KDC facilitated numerous redevelopment projects for local nonprofits included turning the Dallas 24 Hour Club, a sober transitional facility into a 14K sf services hub; constructing a 16K sf second floor for Our Calling, an organization serving the unsheltered homeless, completing a new facility for The Magdalen house, a nonprofit helping women achieve and sustain sobriety, and building the 25K sf McKinney Family Health Center, the region’s fist integrated solution providing underserved populations with medical, dental and behavioral health services. The ULI Jury was impressed by the way in which KDC is making catalytic investments in local non-profits at a scale that is truly extraordinary. They were highly complementary of KDC’s commitment to community and stated that it should be a model for businesses all over this country. Other finalists included the Fannie C. Harris Youth Center, submitted by LRK and The Vineyard on Lancaster, submitted by Union Gospel Mission.
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Presenters and Awardees of the Next BIG Idea Category: (Left to Right): Will Pender, Award Presenter and Impact Awards Co-Chair (Adolfson & Peterson Construction), Opal Lee, Presenter for Transform 1012 N. Main Street (Activist, Author and Juneteenth Museum), Tamela Thornton, Executive Director of ULI Dallas Fort Worth, Daniel Banks, Presenter and Board Chair of Transform 1021 N. Main Street, (Co-Director of DNAWORKS), Jacora Johnson, Transform 1012 N Main Street Coalition, (Executive Board Member of TCCPJ), Taylor Willis, Transform 1012 N Main Street Coalition, (Co-Founder and Executive Director of The Welman Project), Adam McKinney, Transform 1012 N Main Street Coalition, (Assistant Professor of Dance, TCU and Owner of DNAWORKS), Leonard Anderson, Project Manager of SPAW Glass, (Partner to Transform 1012 N. Main Street), and Freddy Cantu, Transform 1012 N Main Street Coalition, (Co-Founder/Artistic Director of SOL Ballet Folklorico)
“The Next Big Idea”
The popular finale for this annual ULI Awards Event was the live competition for The Next Big Idea. The applicants in this category presented their concepts on-stage, with the audience then voting for the winner. The night’s winner was Transform 1012 N. Main Street, submitted by the group of the same name. Attendees had the honor of hearing from Ms. Opal Lee, the 95-year-old visionary responsible for championing the creation of Juneteenth as a national holiday. Ms. Lee and her team are seeking to acquire the former auditorium of a white supremacist, terrorist hate group and transform it into the Fred Rouse Center and Museum for the Arts and Community healing, named after a Black man, lynched in Fort Worth in 1921. It thoughtfully merges anti-racism action and intra-group healing by returning resources to the communities most impacted by the history of the Ku Klux Klan and their presence in the building. The center will include arts training and programming, performance space, museum and exhibit space dedicated to social justice and civil rights, a makerspace and tool library, and space for outdoor urban agriculture and an artisan marketplace. The two other amazing projects were the Five Mile Creek Master Plan, submitted by TBG Partners, and SoGOOD, submitted by Merriman Anderson Architects, Inc.
About the Urban Land Institute
Established in 1936, the Urban Land Institute is the oldest and largest network of cross-disciplinary real estate and land use experts in the world. A non-profit, member-driven organization, its mission is to shape the future of the built environment for transformative impact in communities worldwide. The Institute has roughly 45,000 global members, with over 1,400 members in Dallas-Fort Worth. Through our members’ dedication to the mission and their shared expertise, ULI has proudly been able to set standards of excellence in development practice for the last 85 years.
For media information, please contact:
Tamela Thornton, ULIDFW Executive Director
[email protected]
214-880-8664
2021 Impact Awards
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Innovation Category Winner: Allen ISD STEAM Center, submitted by VLK Architects
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Public Places Category Winner: West End Square, submitted by the Beck Group
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Influence Category Winner: The Shops at RedBird, submitted by the Russell Glen Company
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Social Impact Category Winner: “KDC Giving Back”, submitted by KDC. (Image is of The Magdalen House, one of several projects included in their submission.)
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The Next BIG Idea Category winner, by live vote: Transform 1012 N. Main Street, submitted by the group of the same name.
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The 2021 Vision Award Honoree: Steve Van Amburgh, of KDC
Photo By Bruno