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Wynwood Business Improvement District Honored with National Planning Achievement Award

Wynwood BID

Neighborhood Revitalization District Plan earns national honor from American Planning Association

Miami, FL (May 25, 2017) – MIAMI – The Wynwood Business Improvement District (“Wynwood BID”), along with the City of Miami, PlusUrbia Design and Akerman LLP, has been honored with a national award presented by the American Planning Association (APA). Wynwood BID’s Wynwood Neighborhood Revitalization District (“NRD”) won the prestigious 2017 National Planning Achievement Award for Economic Development Planning.

The Wynwood BID partnered with the City of Miami Planning Department, PlusUrbia Design and Akerman LLP to develop a plan to transform Wynwood into a progressive arts community with walkable streets, transit corridors and green space. The Wynwood NRD was enacted in 2015 and has since spurred increased residential development—particularly small, affordable apartments and live-work units—that appeal to millennials and the creative class.

“We’re proud to share this honor with the City of Miami’s Planning Department, PlusUrbia Design and Akerman Law,” said Wynwood BID Planning & Zoning Committee Chair David Polinsky. “This unprecedented collaboration continues to garner national and international recognition for shaping Wynwood’s continued evolution as a vibrant neighborhood with a diverse fabric of people, businesses and organizations rooted in creativity.”

The 2017 National Planning Award recipients were honored during the APA’s National Planning Conference in New York on May 8th, 2017. The recipients of the profession’s highest honor will be featured in the May 2017 issue of Planning magazine.

The Wynwood BID’s Neighborhood Revitalization District is one of 12 APA Achievement Award recipients this year. The award recognizes the economic development program to transform the previously blighted Wynwood into a diverse, 24-hour mixed-use arts and innovation neighborhood. Visit the Wynwood NRD project at: http://wynwoodmiami.com/learn/projects-initiatives/

“We have worked on projects in cities across the globe and this is one of the most progressive plans we’ve ever been a part of,” said PlusUrbia Director Juan Mullerat. “The Wynwood NRD’s development guidelines introduced innovative tools for the revitalization of industrial uses into mixed-use districts with walkable corridors, public space, affordable/attainable micro-unit housing and 24-hour vibrancy.”

Each year, APA recognizes outstanding efforts in planning and planning leadership through its National Planning Excellence and Achievement Awards. The two-tier awards are selected through a juried process. Excellence recipients are the highest honor and Achievement Awards recognize areas of specialization with the planning profession.

“Good planning is not just preparing the community for the future, but engaging the residents in the discussions and decision-making that will impact their lives,” said W. Shedrick Coleman, AIA, 2017 chair of APA’s Awards Jury. “This year’s award recipients advanced the planning profession by more thoroughly engaging all residents in the planning process.”

APA’s national awards program is a proud tradition established more than 50 years ago to recognize outstanding community plans, planning programs and initiatives, public education efforts, and individuals for their leadership on planning issues.

For a complete list of all the APA 2017 National Planning Excellence and Achievement Award recipients, visit http://www.planning.org/awards

About the American Planning Association (APA):

The American Planning Association is an independent, not- for-profit educational organization that provides leadership in the development of vital communities. APA and its professional institute, the American Institute of Certified Planners, are dedicated to advancing the art, science and profession of good planning — physical, economic and social — so as to create communities that offer better choices for where and how people work and live. The nearly 37,000 members of APA help create communities of lasting value and encourage civic leaders, business interests and citizens to play a meaningful role in creating communities that enrich people’s lives. APA has offices in Washington, D.C., and Chicago. For more information, visit www.planning.org.

About the Wynwood Business Improvement District (Wynwood BID):

The Wynwood BID is a municipal board of the City of Miami representing more than 400 property owners that comprise the 50-city-block Wynwood Arts District. Run by a Board of Directors who themselves are property owners from the community, the BID works to enhance security and sanitation services in the neighborhood, advocate for the betterment of the area, raise awareness of advancements being made, and plan for the future of Wynwood.  For more information, visit www.wynwoodmiami.com

About PlusUrbia:

The PlusUrbia Design studio excels in place making, urban design, zoning, preservation and development. The practice designs contextual buildings and places that create sustainable lasting value.  For more information, please visit: http://plusurbia.com