New Jersey Future Announces 10th Anniversary Smart Growth Award-Winners

June 3rd, 2011 by Teri Jover

The Cracker Factory in Trenton, birthplace of the oyster cracker, after redevelopment.

A diverse group of innovative development and redevelopment projects located in cities, towns and townships across New Jersey will be honored with Smart Growth Awards from New Jersey Future as part of the 10th Anniversary awards celebration and retrospective.

Seven projects and 17 honorees will receive Smart Growth Awards for initiatives ranging from a new village center in Byram Township (Sussex County) to a creative inter-municipal affordable housing project in Pilesgrove Township and Woodstown Borough (Salem County) to an innovative recycling complex in Woodbridge. (A complete list of the winners and honorees follows.)

As part of its 10th Anniversary Smart Growth Awards ceremony in June, New Jersey Future will also honor longtime smart growth advocate James G. Gilbert, Managing Director – Investments and Wealth Management Advisor at Merrill Lynch,with the Cary Edwards Leadership Award. As the first chair of the State Planning Commission, Mr. Gilbert was a driving force behind the initial adoption of the State Development and Redevelopment Plan in 1992 and a founding member of New Jersey Future’s board of trustees. He has worked to implement sound planning at the local level through his involvement as Past President and current member of New Jersey Planning Officials board as well as a member of the Highlands Coalition board and former chairman and member of the Englewood planning board.

“Jim Gilbert has been a compelling advocate for smart growth in New Jersey for more than 25 years,” said New Jersey Future Executive Director Peter Kasabach. “The Cary Edwards Leadership Award, named for the late former assemblyman and state attorney general who was a key player in passage of the State Planning Act in 1987, honors Jim for his lifelong commitment to make New Jersey a better place to live.”

“These award-winners typify the creative thinking, innovative planning and careful consensus-building that are vital components of any successful 21st-century development or redevelopment project.” — Pam Mount, New Jersey Future Board Member

The seven Smart Growth Award-winning projects and plans drew praise from Pam Mount, the Lawrence Township councilwoman and New Jersey Future board member who chaired the selection committee. “These award-winners typify the kind of creative thinking, innovative planning and careful consensus-building that are vital components of any successful 21st-century development or redevelopment project in New Jersey,” she said. “They are a credit not just to their communities, but to the entire state.”

The ceremony honoring Mr. Gilbert and the 2011 Smart Growth Award-winners will be held Thursday, June 9, from 5:30 to 8 p.m. at the Newark Club, One Newark Center, 22nd Floor, Newark. The ceremony will also feature a retrospective of some of the 60-plus projects and teams that won awards in each of the previous years. New Jersey Natural Gas and Tyco are supporting the event as 10th Anniversary sponsors. New Jersey Future is pulling together a special team of 10th Anniversary sponsors to recognize ten years of smart growth success.

New Jersey Future is a statewide research, policy and education group that advocates for sustainable growth, environmental preservation, neighborhood revitalization and transportation choice. Founded in 1987, New Jersey Future is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization and the leading voice for promoting smart growth in New Jersey.

For more information on New Jersey Future and the Smart Growth Awards event, please visit our website www.njfuture.org or call (609) 393-0008, ext. 101.

2011 New Jersey Future Smart Growth Award-Winners

Creative Inter-Municipal Affordable Housing
Bailey Corner, Pilesgrove & Woodstown
haley.donovan; Ingerman; Pilesgrove Township; Woodstown Borough

Innovative Industrial Sustainability
Bayshore Recycling Complex, Woodbridge
Bayshore Recycling Corporation; Woodbridge Township

New Town Center Plan
Byram Village Center
Byram Township; Heyer Gruel & Associates; New Jersey Highlands Council

Historic District Redevelopment
The Cracker Factory, Trenton
HHG Development; New Jersey Housing & Mortgage Finance Agency

Environmental Stewardship and Education
Duke Farms, Hillsborough
Duke Farms Foundation

Inclusionary Infill Redevelopment
Barbara W. Valk Firehouse Apartments, Madison
Borough of Madison; Madison Affordable Housing Corporation; Madison Housing Authority

Comprehensive Neighborhood Revitalization Strategy
Hoboken Housing Authority Vision 20/20 Plan
Hoboken Housing Authority; Marchetto Higgins Stieve

About the 2011 Smart Growth Awards Selection Committee:
The New Jersey Future Smart Growth Awards are selected by an independent jury. Serving on this year’s selection committee are: Pam Mount, Selection Committee Chair, Owner, Terhune Orchards, Member, Lawrence Township Council and Trustee, New Jersey Future Board; John Clarke, FAIA, Partner, Clarke Caton Hintz; Anastasia Harrison, AIA, LEED-AP, Chair, U.S. Green Building Council-NJ and Director of Sustainability, Gannett Fleming A+E; Bob Melvin, PP, AICP, Principal, Group Melvin Design; Kelly Mooij, Director of Government Relations, New Jersey Audubon Society; Anthony Perno, President & CEO, Cooper’s Ferry Development Association; Michael Redpath, President, Downtown New Jersey and President, Redpath & Associates; Ingrid Reed, Senior Fellow, New Jersey Future and Trustee, New Jersey Future Board; and Don Slaght, Managing Director, Advance Real Estate Solutions.