Over 515 local industry leaders gathered to celebrate South Florida’s best and brightest on Aug. 29th at the 7th Annual Vision Awards dinner, hosted by the SE/Caribbean District Council of the Urban Land Institute (ULI) at the JW Marriott Marquis Miami.  “The tremendous success of this event is a tribute to the projects and the people that ULI honored this year.  They, individually and collectively, are a credit to the real estate industry and make our communities better places to live, work, and play,”  stated Mark Peterson, SVP of Commercial Real Estate at Bank of America Merrill Lynch and chair of the local District Council.

2013 Project Award Winners are:

•  Dorado Beach Resort & Club, Puerto Rico – Named by Forbes Magazine as the ‘must see’ resort of 2013, the new project is the 20 year vision of iconic developer Federico Stubbe.  The 1,315 acre development includes hotels, residences, parks, restored golf courses, restaurants, spas and more – all sited to preserve the beauty of this natural, ocean-side preserve.

•  Young at Art Museum/Broward County Library, Davie – This integrated design project is home to both innovative art and reading programs for toddlers through adults, with 300,000 visitors in its first year of operation.  Its design features tilted perimeter walls and a butterfly roof, and operationally is a model for sustainability and lower operating costs.

Other 2013 Project Award Finalists included 396 Alhambra in Coral Gables, the Max Planck Florida Institute in Jupiter and Nova Southeastern University’s Center of Excellence for Coral Reef Ecosystems Research in Hollywood.  All finalists were LEED certified.

The 2013 Lifetime Achievement Award went to The Whitman Family, developers of Bal Harbour Shops.  Led by patriarch Stanley Whitman who established Bal Harbour Shops in 1965, the team includes his son, Managing Partner Randall Whitman, and grandson, Operating Partner Matthew Whitman.  Today, Bal Harbour Shops ranks as the world’s most productive retail development (sales per square foot), with new expansions and projects on the drawing boards.

The Young Leader of the Year Award  is presented to a real estate practitioner 35 years of age or younger.  The 2013 award went to Vanessa Grout, President and CEO of Douglas Elliman Florida Brokerage.   In three short years, she expanded the firm’s presence from a single Miami office into a regional presence with 11 offices.