New Jersey Future has announced the 2023 Smart Growth Award winners. This year’s recipients will be honored during a celebration Oct. 3 at the New Brunswick Performing Arts Center.
This year’s Smart Growth Awards honors seven projects for their groundbreaking contributions to making New Jersey communities sustainable and strong.
2023 Smart Growth Award Winners and their participants are:
Barclay Street Apartments (Paterson)
- A partnership between local health care providers and developers to provide 56 affordable housing units in Paterson to create healthy, stable living conditions.
- Primary Partners: New Jersey Community Capital; New Jersey Community Development Corp.; New Jersey Housing and Mortgage Finance Agency; St. Joseph’s University Medical Center; Thriven Design.
Clinton Hill Early Learning Center (Newark)
- Transforming a long-vacant urban site in Newark into a thriving and vibrant destination for the youngest community members through the thoughtful design and construction of a
welcoming learning center. - Primary Partners: City of Newark; Clinton Hill Community Action; Clinton Hill Community & Early Childhood Center Inc.; DIGroup Architecture; La Casa de Don Pedro; the Maher Charitable Foundation.
Gant-Gilbert Arts Collective (Newark)
- A mixed-use, community-oriented, artist-focused, affordable housing project located in the Clinton Hill section of Newark including community and office spaces, café and gallery below 27 affordable units.
- Primary Partners: City of Newark; Invest Newark; OCA Architects Inc.
Hinchliffe Stadium (Paterson)
- Redevelopment of Paterson’s historic baseball stadium to include a new restaurant, museum as well as additional senior affordable housing and parking to attract visitors and boost civic pride.
- Primary Partners: BAW Development LLC; city of Paterson; New Jersey Department of Community Affairs; New Jersey Economic Development Authority; New Jersey Housing and Mortgage Finance Agency; RPM Development LLC.
Lord & Taylor/Train Station Redevelopment Plan (Westfield)
- Bold new plan for reuse of a shuttered department store building and integrated green design strategies to reinvigorate Westfield and convert the space into a vibrant, mixed-use downtown.
- Primary Partners: EJ Economic Development Advisors; Greenbaum, Rowe, Smith & Davis LLP; HBC Streetworks Development; Topology; town of Westfield.
One Thompson Avenue (Dover)
- Development of a 70-unit family building in Dover on a previously underutilized municipal parking lot fulfills Dover’s master plan, adds density, mirrors local architecture and provides the first affordable housing development in town in over a decade.
- Primary Partners: MidAtlantic Engineering; New Jersey Transit; Pennrose LLC; Thriven Design; town of Dover.
Somerset County Preservation Plan
- First-of-its-kind plan that combines open space, farmland and historic preservation plans to provide funding and partnerships, and balance reuse opportunities with economic development to attract business and tourism to the county.
- Primary Partners: Barton Ross & Partners LLC; County of Somerset; Heritage Strategies; Land Stewardship Solutions LLC; New Jersey Conservation Foundation.
The Trenton-based nonprofit plans to make an announcement shortly of this year’s winners of the Cary Edwards Leadership Award and its inaugural Redevelopment Trailblazer Award.
