| Tampa, FL – The Planning Commission is proud to announce the winners of our 38th Annual Planning & Design Awards, presented by TECO, with marketing partner, the Tampa Bay Times. This celebration of excellence in planning and design in Hillsborough County was held virtually on Tuesday, October 27 on our YouTube Channel. Our annual awards program aligns with the many national festivities held during the American Planning Association’s National Community Planning Month. Established in 2006, #PlanningMonth highlights the role of planners and the importance of good planning in our communities. This year, our awards program was held virtually due to the Coronavirus health pandemic and to ensure we could all stay safe while we honor our winners. Award winners were selected by a panel of distinguished judges from outside of Hillsborough County. Brendan McLaughlin, Master of Ceremonies, presented three Awards of Merit, four Awards of Excellence, two Awards of Outstanding Contribution to the Community, and one Jan Abell Award for Outstanding Contribution to the Community in the Historic Preservation category. |
| Watch the virtual awards program: |
| Jan Abell Award |
| The Jan Abell Award was created in 2001 by the Planning Commission to recognize Outstanding Contributions in the Historic Preservation Category. Jan Abell was a local, passionate preservationist who successfully saved some of Tampa’s and Florida’s most important buildings. |
| 220 Madison |
| Historic Preservation Category |
| Urban Core Holdings IIBDG ArchitectsRubicon General ContractorsFerrell Redevelopment |
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| The judges lauded 220 Madison for its creative reuse of a long-neglected office building and its service to the needs of the student community, typically an under-served and overlooked demographic. Located in the heart of downtown Tampa, 220 Madison was a former bank and office building that had been mostly vacant for much of the past thirty years. The aging 14-story office building was transformed into new student housing for the University of Tampa and the University of South Florida Medical School. The building was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in October 2018 and was also designated a City of Tampa Historic Landmark earlier that year. This redevelopment is a perfect example of the potential other property owners could see for other diamonds-in-the-rough in our County and revitalize them to blend into the fabric of our community. |
| Awards of Outstanding Contribution to the Community |
| Start in the Heart – University Area CDC’s Harvest Hope Park |
| Entertainment, Investment, and Participation Categories |
| University Area CDCHillsborough County Affordable Housing ServicesSpurlino FoundationFlorida Blue FoundationFlorida Medical Clinic Foundation of Caring |
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| Harvest Hope Park is a thriving green space near the University of South Florida that serves a marginalized community and increases healthy food access. The judges fell in love with this project praising its exemplary community engagement and the Harvest Hope Community Garden that engages residents in gardening and nutrition to promote healthy lifestyles and community connections. After years of planning, engineering, and execution, they constructed a beautiful seven-acre park with a multi-purpose sports field, playground, adult exercise equipment, fishing dock, walking trails, community garden, teaching kitchen, and educational classroom. More than just a beautification project, it also serves as a gathering place for neighbors to meet each other and build community. |
| Urban 360 ̊ – City of Tampa Infill Housing Redevelopment Project |
| Housing and Redevelopment Categories |
| Domain Homes, Inc.City of Tampa Housing & Community Development DivisionEast Tampa Community Redevelopment AreaHabitat for Humanity of Hillsborough County, Inc.Corporation to Develop Communities of Tampa, Inc. |
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| Homeownership is a huge hurdle for a lot of people, and the judges applauded Urban 360 for helping to rebuild historically underserved parts of the inner city by providing affordable housing opportunities, without sacrificing aesthetics or quality. Urban 360 represents a public-private partnership at its best by transforming the East Tampa Community Redevelopment Area into a thriving community and fulfilling the dream of new home ownership for low- and moderate-income families. The City of Tampa’s Housing and Community Development Division took the unprecedented step of partnering with Domain Homes and non-profit organizations Habitat for Humanity of Hillsborough County and Corporation to Develop Communities of Tampa. Together, they were able to build 89 quality homes within just 22 months bringing a renewed energy to the community and turning it into a desirable urban housing location. |
| Awards of Excellence |
| Carrollwood Village Park |
| Environmental and Entertainment Categories |
| Board of County CommissionersRick Valdez, DirectorGreg Brown, Parks, Planning & Athletics ManagerAdrienne Rouse, Manager of Recreation Services |
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| The Hillsborough County Parks and Recreation Department’s first destination park offers tons of amenities for citizens of all ages to improve their physical health. Transforming the former wastewater treatment facility into a park has resulted in an increase of $1.1 million in incremental property values and a potential $69.1 million in annual health care costs savings by providing people with opportunities to exercise. A splash pad, pump track, skate park, ninja warrior course, dog parks, and trails are just a few of the amenities that encourage people to improve their physical fitness. The park features an inclusive playground with colorful, innovative equipment enhanced by synthetic turf which provides a safe and level surface for those in wheelchairs. Implementation of the 52-acre park involved nearly four years of planning and design with the community and continues to have a strong volunteer organization dedicated to its care and support. |
| Envision 2030 – Public Participation Plan |
| Participation Category |
| David GreenChris Jadick |
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| The Public Participation Plan was an integral component of the Tampa Bay Area Regional Transit Authority’s Envision 2030 Regional Transit Development Plan. The development of world-class regional transit can bring significant economic benefits to Hillsborough County, in part by making more jobs accessible to more people. Our judges were impressed by the sheer volume of things the Envision 2030 team did. The year-long campaign identified stakeholders, partners, and the audience, as well as campaign activities and tools. This included branding, website development, social media outreach, video, news media, public appearances, presentations, surveys, and much more. By effectively leveraging key marketing channels and strategies, the Envision 2030 team produced a Regional Transit Development Plan that represents the voice of the community. |
| Madison Street Park |
| Entertainment and Redevelopment Categories |
| City of Tampa Department of Parks and RecreationStantecMainstay Construction |
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| Located in Tampa’s Channel District, Madison Street Park was designed with a modern industrial theme as a tribute to the area’s industrial past. At just under an acre, the judges commended how they were able to maximize the limited space and how residents’ preferences were incorporated in the design. By making them stakeholders in the planning process, the City of Tampa created a park that offers its residents a variety of ways to spend time outdoors and is fully accessible to pedestrians, bicyclists, and those with limited mobility. A pavilion offers the community the opportunity to hold music performances, movies, festivals, and more. Court activities such as shuffleboard, volleyball, pickleball and an artificial turf putting green are available for unscheduled play. It even features a new dog park with artificial turf with separate areas for small and large dogs. While small in size, Madison Street Park offers people and pets of all ages and activity levels a special place to enjoy the outdoors in their unique urban setting. |
| Rithm At Uptown |
| Redevelopment and Investment Categories |
| RD Management LLC!p Innovation PartnershipS9 ArchitectureKimley-HornStearns Weaver Miller |
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| Developed by RD Management, Rithm At Uptown’s development plan is designed to fully leverage the most promising aspects of the University Area’s neighboring institutional campuses out into the surrounding neighborhoods. At the end of 2014, RD Management acquired a portion of the 100-acre, 1.4 million square foot, University Mall property and over the next five years acquired the remaining parcels. The redevelopment of the University Mall site is well underway and will include adaptive re-use of some existing structures as well as the construction of new spaces to create a dense and highly livable mixed-use neighborhood unlike any other in Hillsborough County. Innovative, community-based programs focusing on entrepreneurship and apprenticeship spanning the full spectrum of the Arts & Sciences will be a hallmark of the Uptown District and will use training, community involvement, and employment as a pathway to fulfill one’s true potential. When fully complete, Rithm at Uptown will be a vibrant mixed-use district with resources for everyone. |
| Awards of Merit |
| Jule F. Sumner High School |
| Investment Category |
| Addison DavisChris FarkasHarvard Jolly ArchitectureCORE/HORUS |
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| The largest school in Hillsborough County, Sumner High School includes both a middle and high school. Designed by Harvard Jolly Architecture, the $75 million project resulted in a 238,000-square-foot school with a capacity for 2,900 students. In partnership with Hillsborough County Schools, Harvard Jolly Architecture met with school district leaders, maintenance personnel, fire marshals, law enforcement, curriculum specialists, and teachers to understand their security and teaching needs. Other collaborative learning space features include a state-of-the-art culinary suite, science education suites, a technologically enriched media center, theater and classrooms with interconnectivity of touch screen monitors, and student laptops. The judges also loved that the school was designed with the whole community in mind. Hurricane hardening the facility for use as an evacuation location during weather events is just one example of the contribution this facility will have to the surrounding community. |
| Ybor City CRA Vision 2020 Plan |
| Planning Category |
| Community Redevelopment Agency of the City of TampaYbor City Development CorporationVHBOpen Workshop for ArchitectureLandwise Advisors |
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| While Ybor has thoughtfully preserved its unique heritage, the district has undergone significant economic development and investment in recent years. The City embarked on creating a new Vision Plan for the Ybor City Community Redevelopment Area of the City of Tampa with the assistance of the Planning Commission and the consulting firm VHB. The updated plan protects and promotes the National Historic Landmark District by identifying appropriate reinvestment and redevelopment activities. The project included a retail market assessment for 7th and 8th Avenues that identified segments and first floor conversion trends affecting its long-term success as a retail district. It also included a Healthy Community Design assessment that modeled 500 cities’ data with existing community conditions. Investment in sidewalks, bike lanes, trails, public transit, and other infrastructure that would enhance community health emerged from the study. Community stakeholders, including the Ybor City Development Corporation Board of Directors, standing sub-committees, businesses, property owners, and homeowners’ associations, were regularly engaged throughout the process. The result is a plan that protects Ybor’s unique identity while enhancing livability and mobility and attracts future investments. |
| Envision 2030 – The Future of Transit in Tampa Bay |
| Planning Category |
| David GreenChris DeAnnuntis |
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| As Tampa Bay’s first Regional Transportation Development Plan, the judges gave high praise for the strong integration of the technical and public engagement components which resulted in a robust plan that can easily serve as a model for future projects. Developed by the Tampa Bay Area Regional Transit Authority, Envision 2030 is a comprehensive study of our current transit capabilities and includes an analysis of six peer regions. The Regional Transit Network proposed by the plan would increase 60-minute transit commute job access by 58%, resulting in the employment of 201,000 workers from low-to-moderate income areas and increase 50,000 jobs from current transit commute times. Hillsborough County, with 40% of our five-county region’s population would benefit most with an estimated 20,000 of those jobs. Envision 2030 incorporates a mix of traditional transit coupled with innovative and environmentally sustainable transit technologies that will drive Tampa Bay forward in future decades. |
| Thank You Judges |
 Andre Anderson| AICPCommunity Development Director |City of St. Cloud, Florida |  Allara Mills Gutcher| AICPManaging Principal | The Planning Collaborative |  Silvia Vargas| FAICP, LEED APPrincipal Planner | Calvin, Giordanoand Associates |
| Special Recognition Awards |
| Three special awards were presented that were not selected by our jury. |
| Hillsborough River Stewardship AwardJoe Coone |
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| This year we are proud to honor Joe Coone as the recipient of the Hillsborough River Stewardship Award. No one in the past 10 years has spent more time and effort on the Lower Hillsborough River than Mr. Coone. He is Captain of the Jezebel, a 40-foot pontoon boat that hosts parties, concerts and evening cruises. Joe has introduced countless people to the river and hosts four River Cleanups a year. He is involved in the control of stormwater trash, acts as a traffic controller for the river, slowing down speeders, telling powerboats how not to hit the rocks, or manatees, and allowing tired paddleboarders to hitch a ride. As the unofficial mayor of the lower river, Joe shares information, introduces neighbors and solves problems. Joe Coone is truly a great steward for the Hillsborough River and an outstanding example for all of us. |
| Executive Director’s AwardCity of Tampa’s Lift Up Local Economic Recovery Plan |
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| In response to COVID-19 and the Governor’s restaurant interior capacity limits, the City of Tampa implemented the Lift Up Local Economic Recovery Plan. Lift Up Local temporarily allows bars, restaurants, and retail businesses to establish outdoor capacity on adjacent privately-owned and public space without having to go through a full application and permitting process or pay a fee. The initial 14-day pilot began on May 5, allowing restaurants to use sidewalks, parking lots, and even the streets in eight areas including parts of 7th Avenue, East Twiggs Street, North Franklin Street, and West Snow Avenue. Tampa was among the first of cities around the country that took this creative approach during these trying times. This approach also served as an illustration of what can be when our streets and public spaces are planned for more than moving motor vehicles through our communities. |
| Chairman’s AwardHillsborough County Public Safety Operations Complex |
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| The new Public Safety Operations Complex Emergency Operations Center provides critical training for first responders, civic leaders, and citizens alike. This complex replaced multiple outdated and undersized buildings to bring together many of Hillsborough’s Office of Emergency Management Emergency Support Functions. The complex, the people, and the work are, without a doubt, critical in building and sustaining regional strength and resilience. The complex includes a 52,000-square-foot main building that houses Fire Rescue’s command staff and the high-tech Emergency Operations Center. Built to withstand the highest hurricane rating, the building can accommodate 250 emergency workers within the Command Center and breakout rooms and can operate for 72 hours even during a local telephone, internet, and electrical distribution grid failure. An accompanying warehouse has an advanced inventory control system that helps ensure equipment and medical supplies get into the field faster, and a fleet operations building where technicians keep emergency vehicles in prime condition to bring aid when seconds count. Since the declaration of the local emergency order earlier this year by our State and subsequently within the County during the global pandemic, the PSOC Emergency Operation Center has served as the center of our County government’s functions to monitor, prepare, and respond to the emergency. |
| Thank You Sponsors |
 Presenting SponsorTECO  Marketing PartnerTampa Bay Times |
| The Planning Commission’s annual Planning & Design Awards program ispaid for entirely through project entry fees, ticket sales, and sponsorships. Thank you to our incredible sponsors for your support of excellence inplanning and design contributing to the quality of life in our community! |
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