Project Management: Real Estate Industry Awards

Each Year, national Real Estate Industry awards programs call for experts across the country to submit projects for consideration in being named the best in their category. From Best Sustainable design to Best Mixed-Use community to Best Overall project, I have spearheaded ACC's entries in multiple national awards programs each year -- and each year, ACC projects have won.

Most recently, I worked on submissions for ACC's central focus for national recognition, in the Student Housing Business Innovator Awards. SHB Hosted their annual conference in July 2021, during which the organization announced the winners in its awards programs, which they reported had received a record amount of entries with more than 140 submissions judged by over 100 industry experts.

Entries for each category in the awards program calls for a detailed narrative describing the project, challenges faced, indicators of success and acceptance in the project's environment, in addition to statistics reflecting leasing success and continued occupancy, delivered in an attractive design featuring outstanding and relevant project photography.

I kicked off ACC's submission process by analyzing all projects eligible for submission -- ACC

has developed, owned and managed more than 200 student housing project nationwide. I narrowed down the list and created a spreadsheet of award categories and my recommendations for submissions, which I provided to ACC's Chief Investment Officer, SVP of Development and SVP of Branding and Marcom Strategy for review. Following a collaborative discussion and subsequent agreement on submission strategy, I conducted interviews with project team members and stakeholders, including internal developers and marketing team leads, external project architects and general contractors, and even University partners for on-campus projects about each community we planned to submit for award consideration.

I used those interviews to deliver well-researched narratives, that were then reviewed by each project team. Upon approval of each narrative, I worked directly with ACC's internal graphic design team to create attractive entry designs, helping to select project photography and advising on branding style. I then submitted all of ACC's entries, meeting deadline and budget expectations.

As a result, American Campus Communities projects were awarded first place in four SHB Innovator Award categories, more than any other one organization.

ACC was honored with the following on-campus awards for 2021:

• On-Campus Best Public-Private Financing Solution: Manzanita Square at San Francisco State University - ACC recognized an enormous opportunity to provide development and financial expertise and support to a dedicated project team in the California State University System’s first equity-financed public-private partnership. After a 22-month construction duration, Manzanita Square opened its doors in August 2020. The 584-bed, academically oriented community represents a true win-win-win for the project team, the University and its students.

• On-Campus Best Implementation of Mixed-Use/Live-Learn: UIC Academic and Residential Complex - The ARC is home to more than 550 UIC students, providing a purpose-built, academically oriented student living environment and classrooms in the heart of campus. The facility provides modern spaces for residents to live, learn and thrive, including 50,000 square feet of academic space including learning halls, classrooms, study spaces and tutoring centers.

• On-Campus Best New Development: University of Illinois Chicago Academic and Residential Complex - In the spring of 2017, UIC engaged ACC to deliver the Academic and Residential Complex (ARC), which represents the first phase of the University’s revitalization initiative. Developed as a public-private partnership among UIC and ACC, the ARC was delivered in Fall 2019 after a 20-month construction process.

• On-Campus Best Architecture: UIC Academic and Residential Complex - Campus-wide connection is reinforced through transparency between interior program spaces and the outdoor environment. Amenity spaces are highly visible and concentrated on the ground floor to promote and extend the community’s learning environment. The community’s facade and interiors echo the geometric architecture seen throughout campus, celebrating the university’s urban context while simultaneously maintaining a residential collegiate aesthetic.

Following this announcement, I assisted in pushing out a press release detailing ACC's success in the awards program, and also crafted social media posts relevant for each of ACC's audiences across our social platforms.