Housing and Community Design Awards - 2005 Winners

Alan J. Rothman Housing Accessibility Award:

The purpose of this award is to show exemplary projects that demonstrate excellence in improving housing accessibility for people with disabilities.

Waterloo Heights Apartments of Los Angeles, California sought to create high-quality, affordable housing for low-income, special-needs tenants including disabled Veterans, seniors and individuals with HIV/AIDS. The craftsman-style courtyard provides a hub for social interaction and, many of the front doors opening off this courtyard, offers informal security for the adjacent front gate and increased opportunity for chance encounter. When the development was completed in August 2003, 200 applications had already been received. In September 2003, 17 tenants moved in.

Community Building by Design Award:

Community building is a people-based approach to fighting poverty that builds on the assets of the community. It supports people on the poor neighborhoods as they rebuild social structures and relationships that may have been weakened by out-migration, disinvestment, and the isolation of inner-city areas.

Blake Street Flats in Denver Colorado represents the third phase of an inner-city redevelopment effort located in one of the city's historic districts, and just a short walk from the central business district. This 3-story, 24 unit building, designed as an infill project in a neighborhood of historic homes and industrial warehouses, is intended to reintroduce affordable housing appropriate to its setting. The design phase of the project involved a diverse group of community stakeholders and former residents of the area's previously failed public housing projects.

Mixed-Use/Mixed-Income Development Award:

This award recognizes projects that embrace and demonstrate the revitalizing potential of mixed-use and mixed-income housing developments. "Mixed-use housing" refers to developments that combine residential land use with nonresidential uses(s), such as retail centers, community centers, public facilities, and the like, "Mixed- income housing" refers to residential developments designed and financed to include market-rate as well as below-market-rate (affordable) housing.