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

April 20th, 2011 by Jay Corbalis

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.

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.

“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.” — Pam Mount, New Jersey Future Board Member

“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.”

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 2011 Smart Growth Awards 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. More information on sponsorship can be found here.

2011 New Jersey Future Smart Growth Awards

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