St. Ann’s Warehouse wins ‘Excellence in Institutional Development’ award from Urban Land Institute NY

March 14, 2016 Brooklyn Daily Eagle

St. Ann’s Warehouse in DUMBO. Eagle photo by Rob Abruzzese

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The Urban Land Institute (ULI) New York on Friday announced the winners of its inaugural Awards for Excellence in Development, a new competition that is raising the bar for New York’s real estate industry. St. Ann’s Warehouse in DUMBO was among the seven projects from across the city and state to earn top honors, co-winning the Excellence in Institutional Development category (along with the September 11 Memorial Museum & Pavilion). The winning projects are honored for their innovation, responsible land use and community impact.

St. Ann’s Warehouse is a 36-year-old performance organization based in Brooklyn Heights. A haven for foreign, avant-garde and puppetry performance, the theater was working out of temporary spaces in Brooklyn until now. Its new permanent home in an 1860s restored tobacco warehouse was developed in a key site in the ongoing waterfront development in Brooklyn Bridge Park. The building includes a lobby, a 700-seat theatre, offices, event space and community amenities that open onto an intimate public garden within the original footprint of the building.

“We are proud to share this honor with Marvel Architects PLLC, DBI Projects, Charcoalblue, Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates and our whole team of designers, expert engineers and preservation consultants, and we thank the St. Ann’s board, New York City, Brooklyn Bridge Park and the numerous individuals and foundations who have helped us make the new theater a reality,” said Susan Feldman, St. Ann’s Warehouse founder and artistic director.

“The new St. Ann’s Warehouse offers, on an amplified scale, the versatility and grandeur that audiences have come to expect from us, while preserving the walls of the iconic 1860 Tobacco Warehouse that houses the theater,” said Feldman. “It will make Brooklyn Bridge Park and the New York waterfront a home for culture for future generations.”

The St. Ann’s Warehouse project team includes Buro Happold; CharcoalBlue LLP; DBI Construction Consultants, LLC; David Weeks Studio; Flyleaf Creative; Higgins Quasebarth & Partners; JM Zoning; Marvel Architects, PLLC; Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates; Samara Daly; Silman; Stan Pressner; The Wright Group NY; Tom Fruin; and Yorke Construction Corp.

Other projects that won awards included Conventus — Buffalo, N.Y. (Ciminelli Real Estate Corporation), for Excellence in Office Development; Hunter’s Point South Living — Queens, N.Y. (Related Companies, Phipps Houses and Monadnock Development), for Excellence in Housing Development; East Harlem Center for Living and Learning — New York City; (Jonathan Rose Companies), for Excellence in Mixed-Use Development; Brookfield Place — New York City (Brookfield Property Partners), for Excellence in Repositioning or Redevelopment; and No. 7 Line Extension Project — New York City (NYC Transit), for Excellence in Civic Space.

The announcement of the seven winners caps a six-month process that began when ULI New York opened nominations in September 2015. The 14 finalists across the six award categories were announced in December.

Winners were selected by a distinguished jury of ULI members representing all major segments of the real estate industry. Nominations were open to public, private and nonprofit projects from ULI members and nonmembers alike from across the state, and a wide array of nominees were considered.

The awards jury weighed how each development demonstrated leadership, innovation, market success, sustainability and resiliency. Jurors also considered how each development is meeting the current and future needs of its surrounding community. Additionally, the jury conducted comprehensive site tours of each finalist’s project in January and early February.

ULI New York’s Awards Committee also oversaw the review process and the awards gala. Members of both the committee and the jury recused themselves from any discussions involving one of their company’s projects and the award categories in which one of their projects was considered.

The awards trophies received by the seven winners were designed by SITU Studio, a design and fabrication company based in DUMBO.