2025–2026 Nomination Cycle Now Open — Suggest a Project for Recognition
The Definitive Source for Housing Excellence

Celebrating the Best in Affordable Housing

HousingAwards.org is the central platform for recognizing outstanding affordable housing projects. Browse award winners across every major housing organization, and suggest projects that deserve recognition.

8

Award Categories

350+

Projects Recognized

7

Partner Organizations

2025

Cycle Now Open

Award Categories

Eight Categories of Excellence

Our award categories span the full spectrum of affordable housing achievement — from architectural design to innovative financing to adaptive reuse and community impact.

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Best Architect

Recognizing architectural firms and individual architects whose design vision transforms affordable housing into community landmarks that uplift residents and neighborhoods.

Best Design

Honoring projects that demonstrate exceptional design quality — from site planning and building aesthetics to interior finishes, common spaces, and resident amenities.

Best Capital Stack

Celebrating creative financing structures that layer LIHTC, HUD programs, bonds, grants, and private capital to maximize affordability and project feasibility.

Best Housing Conversion

Recognizing outstanding adaptive reuse and conversion projects — hotels to housing, offices to apartments, churches to communities, and other transformative redevelopments.

Best Sustainability

Projects that demonstrate leadership in green building, Passive House certification, net-zero energy, resilient design, and long-term environmental stewardship.

Best Community Impact

Honoring developments that deliver measurable positive outcomes for surrounding neighborhoods — from economic revitalization to enhanced services and resident empowerment.

Best Historic Preservation

Projects that skillfully preserve and revitalize historic structures while creating modern, accessible affordable housing that honors architectural heritage.

Most Innovative Project

Recognizing developments that break new ground with pioneering approaches to construction methods, technology integration, service delivery, or policy implementation.

This Year's Recognized Projects

A curated look at exceptional affordable housing projects honored across major industry award programs in 2025.

TW ULI Kemp Award Best Conversion

The Wilder

Nashville, Tennessee

Transforms an underutilized motel into 97 units of permanent, mixed-income workforce housing. Serves households at 60%–100% AMI without public subsidies through creative financing.

97 Units Adaptive Reuse Workforce Housing
MSV ULI Kemp Award Best Capital Stack

Market Street Village

San Diego, California

A 229-unit property converting market-rate apartments to affordable housing through a social impact investment strategy, providing rapid homelessness intervention in downtown San Diego.

229 Units Market Conversion Social Impact
SV ULI NY Gala Best Sustainability

Sendero Verde

New York, New York

The world's largest passive-house residential building with 709 all-electric units. 100% affordable with triple-glazed windows, solar panels, and community gardens.

709 Units Passive House 100% Affordable
DA ULI Americas Best Historic Preservation

Dayton Arcade

Dayton, Ohio

A historic nine-building complex revived into a vibrant mixed-use hub with housing, retail, innovation spaces, and a restored iconic Rotunda, generating $135M+ in investment.

Mixed-Use $135M Investment Adaptive Reuse
AVE ULI Atlanta Best Community Impact

The Avenue

Atlanta, Georgia

36-townhome affordable for-sale housing near MARTA and BeltLine, developed with 16 separate financing sources for a creative $12.4M capital stack through Atlanta Land Trust.

36 Homes For-Sale Land Trust
ION ULI Atlanta Most Innovative

Ion at College Park

College Park, Georgia

$30M mixed-use development adapting a 125-year-old church into affordable condos, art studios, gallery, and theatre with Atlanta's first rent-to-buy program. LIHTC + CDFI financing.

$30M Church Conversion Rent-to-Buy
SHA NAHRO Merit Most Innovative

SHA Transit Pass Program

Seattle, Washington

First-of-its-kind program providing free unlimited ORCA transit cards to all residents in SHA-owned housing, generating 1.25M rides and $2.1M savings in 2024.

1.25M Rides $2.1M Savings Transit Equity
EM NAHRO Merit Best Design

Escalante Meadows

Santa Barbara County, California

A model community revitalization project demonstrating how affordable housing design can catalyze local employment and create safer, more inclusive neighborhoods.

HASBARCO Revitalization CPTED Design
NRP NAHB BALA Gold Best Design

NRP Development

Cleveland, Ohio

Named Best Multifamily Development Firm at the 2025 BALA Awards, recognizing a portfolio of exceptional affordable and market-rate multifamily communities nationwide.

Multifamily Firm of the Year National
N56 NAHMA Vanguard Most Innovative

Nest56 at Denargo Market

Denver, Colorado

Innovative permanent supportive housing for transition-aged youth providing housing stability with integrated services. Named a 2025 Vanguard Award winner by NAHMA.

Supportive Housing Youth TAY Denver
P12 NAHMA Vanguard Best Capital Stack

Parkway 1208

West Roxbury, Massachusetts

60-unit mixed-income development by B'nai B'rith Housing, transforming a planned market-rate condo into affordable rentals serving families at 60%–90% AMI. First new affordable in West Roxbury in a decade.

60 Units Mixed-Income Adaptive Dev
BEL AIA Minnesota Best Architect

Belfry Apartments & Mixed Use

Minnesota

Winner of the 2025 AIA Minnesota / McKnight Foundation Affordable Housing Design Award, designed by UrbanWorks Architecture, LLC. Recognized for exceptional design that lifts community.

UrbanWorks McKnight Foundation Design Award
Industry Awards Directory

All Major Housing Award Programs

HousingAwards.org aggregates recognition programs from the leading housing organizations. Explore each program, its categories, and past winners.

Urban Land Institute

Est. 1979 — Americas, Asia Pacific, Europe
  • Jack Kemp Excellence in Affordable & Workforce Housing
  • Terwilliger Center Award for Innovation in Attainable Housing
  • Americas Awards for Excellence
  • Regional Awards for Excellence (NY, DC, Atlanta, etc.)
View ULI Awards →

National Association of Housing & Redevelopment Officials

Awards of Excellence & Merit
  • Awards of Excellence (National top honors)
  • Awards of Merit (Regional recognition)
  • Project Design Awards
  • Administrative Innovation & Resident Services
View NAHRO Awards →

National Association of Home Builders

Best in American Living Awards (BALA)
  • Best in American Living Awards (Gold / Silver)
  • Best Multifamily Development
  • Best Affordable Community
  • Pillars of the Industry Awards
View NAHB Awards →

Public Housing Authorities Directors Association

1,900 Member Agencies Nationwide
  • Stephen J. Bollinger Memorial Scholarship
  • Civil Rights and Social Justice Scholarship
  • Nan McKay Pathway to Achievement
  • Member Agency Recognition
View PHADA →

American Institute of Architects

AIA Housing Award
  • Excellence in Affordable Housing Design
  • Community-Engaged Design Award
  • Housing Accessibility — Rothman Award
  • Universal Dwelling Design
View AIA Awards →

HUD Secretary's Awards

U.S. Dept. of Housing & Urban Development
  • Public-Philanthropic Partnerships
  • Tribal Communities
  • Historic Preservation
  • Healthy Homes
View HUD Awards →

National Affordable Housing Management Association

Vanguard Awards
  • Vanguard Award — New Construction (Small)
  • Vanguard Award — New Construction (Large)
  • Vanguard Award — Rehabilitation (Small)
  • Vanguard Award — Rehabilitation (Large)
View NAHMA Awards →

Affordable Housing Finance

Readers' Choice Awards
  • Readers' Choice — Best New Construction
  • Readers' Choice — Best Rehabilitation
  • Readers' Choice — Best Senior Housing
  • Readers' Choice — Best Supportive Housing
View AHF Awards →
Award History

A Decade of Housing Excellence

Browse notable award-winning projects that have shaped the affordable housing landscape over the past decade.

2025

Sendero Verde — ULI NY Gala Winner

World's largest Passive House residential building, 709 all-electric units in East Harlem. 100% affordable with integrated school and community services.

2024

HASBARCO — NAHRO Multiple Awards

Housing Authority of Santa Barbara County honored with five Awards of Merit for design excellence and innovative CPTED safety programs.

2023

Higher Ground Saint Paul — AIA Minnesota

Catholic Charities development recognized for exceptional affordable housing design serving the most vulnerable populations with dignity.

2022

ULI Innovation Awards Launched

The Terwilliger Center created the Award for Innovation to recognize developments offering or preserving deeper affordability through replicable strategies.

2020

Red Cedar Apartments — ULI Kemp Award

Seattle Housing Authority's development at Yesler honored as a model of mixed-income, transit-oriented affordable housing.

2016

Schmidt Artist Lofts — AIA Minnesota

Dominium Development's transformation of a historic brewery into affordable artist live-work spaces, honored for outstanding adaptive reuse.

Award Programs Featured On This Platform

Know a Project That Deserves Recognition?

Submit your suggestion for an affordable housing project that should be considered for a Housing Award. Community members, developers, architects, lenders, and advocates are all encouraged to participate.

About HousingAwards.org

Championing Affordable Housing Excellence

HousingAwards.org serves as the definitive clearinghouse for affordable housing recognition — aggregating awards across all major industry organizations and providing a public platform for community-driven suggestions.

01

Discover

Browse award-winning projects across ULI, NAHRO, NAHB, PHADA, AIA, HUD, NAHMA, and other organizations in one central location.

02

Suggest

Know a project that deserves recognition? Submit your suggestion with details on design, financing, and community impact for our review panel.

03

Celebrate

Join us in elevating the best in affordable housing — projects that prove great design, creative financing, and deep affordability can coexist.