Past Award Winners

2017 APA-MA Annual Planning Award Recipients

On December 8, 2017, the American Planning Association, Massachusetts Chapter (APA-MA) and the Massachusetts Association of Planning Directors (MAPD) celebrated the holiday season and honored innovative planning projects and professionals across Massachusetts during the Annual Awards and Holiday Luncheon at the Boston Marriott. To learn more about the 2017 recipients : 2017 APA-MA MAPD Awards Recipients.

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2016 APA-MA Annual Planning Award Recipients

On December 9, 2015, the American Planning Association, Massachusetts Chapter (APA-MA) and the Massachusetts Association of Planning Directors (MAPD) celebrated the holiday season and honored innovative planning projects and professionals across Massachusetts during the Annual Awards and Holiday Luncheon at the Hotel Marlowe in Cambridge. To learn more about the 2016 recipients : 2016 APA-MA MAPD Awards Recipients.

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2015 APA-MA Annual Planning Award Recipients

On December 11, 2015, the American Planning Association, Massachusetts Chapter (APA-MA) and the Massachusetts Association of Planning Directors (MAPD) celebrated the holiday season and honored innovative planning projects and professionals across Massachusetts during the Annual Awards and Holiday Luncheon at the Hotel Marlowe in Cambridge. The following are descriptions of the 2015 APA-MA Annual Planning Awards recipients. To learn more about the 2015 recipients 2015 APA-MA Annual Awards Recipients2015 APA-MA Annual Awards Recipients

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2012 APA-MA CHAPTER AWARDS

For a description of award winners from the 2012 APA-MA Awards ceremony, click 2012 APA-MA Award Winners.

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2011 APA-MA CHAPTER AWARDS

For a description of award winners from the 2011 APA-MA Awards ceremony, click  2011 APA-MA Award Winners.

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2010 APA-MA CHAPTER AWARDS

The 2010 Chapter Awards Committee was chaired by Steve Sadwick, AICP, and included Bob Mitchell, FAICP, and Tom Bott, AICP. The dedicated committee members reviewed each of the applications and convened to select the 2010 APA-MA Chapter Awardees.

2010 APA-MA LEGISLATOR OF THE YEAR: REPRESENTATIVE PAUL DONATO

Rep. Donato served as Co-Chair with Senator Jamie Eldridge on the Joint Committee on Municipalities and Regional Government. Rep. Donato’s diligent work along with Senator Eldridge produced the Comprehensive Land Use Partnership Act (CLURPA) which was a compromise bill. The bill included significant elements of the Community Planning Act (CPA2) and the Administration’s Land Use Partnership Act. CLURPA was the first time a comprehensive land use bill was favorably reported out of committee. Rep. Donato’s leadership is greatly appreciated on this endeavor.

2010 PROFESSIONAL PLANNER AWARD RECIPIENT: CONNIE KRUGER, AICP, FORMERLY SENIOR PROGRAM MANAGER AT THE MASSACHUSETTS HOUSING PARTNERSHIP

Connie recently retired from MHP and was recognized for her 24 years of service to the planning community in Massachusetts. From 1986-2002, as Senior Planner for the Town of Amherst, Connie’s accomplishments included being responsible for a comprehensive and innovative approach to housing and affordable housing including zoning changes and authoring a Guide to Co-operative Housing Development. From 2002-2010, as Senior Program Manager at the Massachusetts Housing Partnership, she served as a resource for communities on the topic of affordable housing. Connie was the key organizer of the annual Massachusetts Housing Institute, a 2 day training program for local officials.

2010 DISTINGUISHED SERVICE AWARD: FELIPE SCHWARZ, AICP, SENIOR PLANNER/PROJECT MANAGER AT VANASSE HANGEN BRUSTLIN, & APA-MA VICE PRESIDENT OF CHAPTER AFFAIRS

This award is given to that individual that has provided outstanding service to the Chapter. Over the past five years, Felipe has served on the Southern New England APA (SNEAPA) Planning Conference committee and as a liaison to Southern New England Chapters. Through his leadership, sponsorship funding to the chapter over the past five years has generated over $70,000 to the Chapter. Felipe stepped up to address Chapter communications. He created a task force with the RI Chapter to improve the joint electronic newsletter. He has also leads email marketing communications via Constant Contact as the email delivery system to reach all of the Chapter’s members. Most recently, he assembled a small working group to completely revamp the APA-MA website. Again, through this own volunteer time, he took responsibility for migrating a significant amount of content off of the old website and placed it on the new website. This widely visible presence of the APA-MA Chapter was accomplished through his sustained efforts.

2010 COMPREHENSIVE PLAN AWARD: TOWN OF LINCOLN COMPREHENSIVE LONG-RANGE PLAN. TOWN OF LINCOLN &  COMMUNITY OPPORTUNITIES GROUP, INC. (COG)

COG completed a new comprehensive plan for the Town of Lincoln in September 2009. The Comprehensive Plan was adopted by the Planning Board (Sept. 22, 2009) and ratified by Town Meeting (Nov. 14, 2009). Throughout, COGʹs work was guided by the Lincoln Planning Board and Comprehensive Long‐Range Plan Committee (CLRPC), a 50+‐member group that managed a lively public participation process. The plan affirms Lincolnʹs history of creative development techniques and calls upon the town to focus on several needs and opportunities. To view the plan, click here.

2010 OUTSTANDING PLANNING PROJECT AWARDS:

The 2010 Awards Committee selected four planning projects for recognition. The first planning project was for a statewide project, while the additional three were based on community size.

A) STATEWIDE CATEGORY- AFFORDABLE HOUSING TRUST GUIDEBOOK AND WORKSHOP SERIES

This project represents a very high quality standard for community education in planning.  The written Guidebook has excellent, accurate, up-to-date information presented in a clear and attractive format.  The workshop was offered a total of six times at a variety of venues and locations.  Approximately 227 people participated in one of the six workshops.  Workshop participants were provided with the Guidebook, print outs of all power point presentations as well as supplemental materials. To view the Guidebook, click here.

B) SMALL SIZED COMMUNITY- TOWN OF LEE, THE CECIL GROUP, RKG ASSOCIATES AND MASSDEVELOPMENT

This project supports the notion that redevelopment at this location could prove to be a critical catalyst for further improvements in the Town. The project was the result of a collaborative planning process that included the Town of Lee Selectboard, the Lee Community Development Corporation, MassDevelopment, citizens of the Town of Lee, the Berkshire Regional Planning Commission, RKG Associates, the owners and potential redevelopers of the property, and The Cecil Group. The result is a fully detailed redevelopment plan that includes a Study with assessments from the perspective of site and building physical planning and constraints, community planning objectives, regulatory context and constraints, and economic constraints and opportunities; a complete implementation Action Plan with steps for both the community and developer to fulfill the goals of reuse, and a Developer’s Workbook for supporting due diligence and private advancement of a project proposal.

C) MID-SIZED COMMUNITY:THE FITCHBURG RIVER STREET 40R SMART GROWTH DISTRICT. CITY OF FITCHBURG, TWIN CITIES COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION AND CONCORD SQUARE PLANNING & DEVELOPMENT

The work was scoped to include dedicated attention to both infrastructure improvements that would facilitate mixed-use reinvestment in the River Street district, with 40R incentive funds as a potential funding source for implementation, and also to include direct outreach to landowners to improve their understanding of financing options for mill renovations. The study included a financing workshop led by Concord Square and by Marc Dohan of Twin Cities Community Development Corporation; several meetings with area property owners including tours of each building to better understand the redevelopment opportunities and to solicit landowners’ input; and an evaluation of the development potential of each of the proposed sub-districts. Following adoption of the smart growth zoning district, MDP Development, the owner of one of the mills at 245 River Street, submitted their permitted project for approval under the 40R section of the ordinance. That project is currently under construction, having begun site work earlier this year.

D) LARGE SIZED COMMUNITY: RUTHERFORD AVENUE CORRIDOR DESIGN STUDY. CITY OF BOSTON AND THE CECIL GROUP

The Rutherford Avenue Corridor Design Study has established the approved plan for the complete transformation of an outdated, automobile corridor and two major grade separated interchanges into locally-oriented streets and development blocks scaled to extend the traditional urban fabric along Charlestown’s eastern edge. The multidisciplinary effort effectively engaged the Charlestown community to forge consensus on the dramatic changes that are ahead. The plan represents a fundamental shift from the past auto-oriented priorities to a balanced environment that favors new pedestrian connections, creates regional open space and bicycle corridors, and permits the re-emergence of a grid of streets positioned to absorb beneficial transit-oriented development.

2010 INDIVIDUAL STUDENT PROJECT AWARD: SUSAN C. KARIM, BOSTON ARCHITECTURAL COLLEGE LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE STUDENT.

As part of the proposed redevelopment and revitalization of the Historic Downtown Quincy area, the Quincy Department of Planning and Community Development undertook a Tree Census to indentify, catalogue, map, and diagnose the health of the street trees in Quincy Center. The information was ultimately compiled into a comprehensive hard copy book as part of the Permanent Public Records collection at Quincy City Hall, as well as being developed into an online database for public use. The Field Guide to Trees: For Quincy Center Zoning Districts was compiled by Bachelor of Landscape Architecture student Susan C. Karim between July & November 2009 as part of the Boston Architectural College’s concurrent academic/practice work./study curriculum.

2010 STUDENT PROJECT- BEST NEIGHBORHOOD PROJECT: LOWELL LOWER HIGHLANDS NEIGHBORHOOD PLAN- MIT STUDENTS OF COMMUNITY GROWTH AND LAND USE PLANNING PRACTICUM

In the fall of 2009, a group of graduate students from MIT’s Department of Urban Studies and Planning collaborated with the City of Lowell’s Division of Planning and Development to create a neighborhood plan for the Lower Highlands. The Lower Highlands is an ethnically diverse neighborhood, and is the heart of Lowell’s Southeast Asian community. It has blocks of narrow residential streets, three commercial squares and an underutilized industrial district. It is within close walking distance of the Gallagher Terminal transit station, the future Hamilton Canal District redevelopment site and the core of downtown Lowell. Overall, the Lowell Lower Highlands Neighborhood Plan will serve as an important guidance document for evaluating future development and programming future improvements to the City’s infrastructure, public realm, and zoning amendments.

2010 STUDENT PROJECT- BEST TRAILS PROJECT- THE WATERTOWN COMMUNITY PATH. TUFTS UNIVERSITY STUDENTS: KRISTOPHER CARTER, EUNICE KIM, ERIC GIAMBRONE, MICHELLE MOON, JONG WAI TOMMEE.

This 100-page report, produced by five first-year Tufts graduate students, examines the feasibility of developing a multi-use path in Watertown that would connect East Watertown, Watertown Square and the Charles River. It builds on years of effort by pedestrian and cycling advocates, whose vision it is to create such a path along a former railroad right-of-way that extends through the center of town, a highly developed area. The project would provide an essential link in the regional network of paths, while facilitating safe and easy access to the town center for those traveling on foot or by bike. Although some groundwork had been completed, with a small segment entering construction, a vital section through the heart of Watertown had yet to be formally planned. Watertown Community Path: Linking Watertown’s Past to its Future represents the first major step to develop that section, the Watertown Community Path.

2010 MEDIA AWARD: CITY OF QUINCY- “NEW QUINCY CENTER: PAST- PRESENT-FUTURE”

Documentary: The “New Quincy Center” redevelopment proposal calls for 800 new residential units, 684,000 sf of new office space, 590,200 sf of new retail space, a new 140-room hotel, and several new parking facilities. To support the private development program there will be over $100 million in public investment to repair/replace the infrastructure systems in downtown. The City of Quincy Planning Department produced a documentary on the history and current condition of Quincy Center infrastructure and why it needs to be replaced. Titled “New Quincy Center: Past-Present-Future” the program debuted on October 23, 2009 through the City’s local access television corporation QATV.

CHARLES E. DOWNE TRUSTEES DISTINGUISHED SERVICE AWARD: MR HOWARD FOSTER

Dwight Merriam, Robert Mitchell and Carol Thomas, trustees of the Charles E. Downe Memorial Trust, were in attendance to present the Charles E. Downe Award to Mr. Howard Foster.

2010 MAPD DISTINGUISHED SERVICE AWARD: STEVE COSTELLO, AICP, PLANNING DIRECTOR AT TOWN OF NORWOOD & PAST PRESIDENT OF THE MAPD

For his distinguished service to the MAPD, Steve Costello, Town of Norwood Planning Director, was awarded with the MAPD Distinguished Service Award for his outstanding service to the planning profession.

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2009 APA-MA CHAPTER AWARDS

The Massachusetts Chapter of the American Planning Association (APA-MA) is pleased to announce the recipients of the 2009 APA-MA Chapter Awards Program. This awards program is co-sponsored by the Massachusetts Association of Planning Directors (MAPD) and the Massachusetts Association of Consulting Planners (MACP). Awards winners were honored at the 2009 Awards Holiday Luncheon held on Friday December 18, 2009 at The Hall at Parris (above Ned Devine’s) at Faneuil Hall Marketplace in Boston.

2009 APA-MA AWARD WINNERS

I. Distinguished Leadership Awards

• Professional Planner: Timothy Brennan
• Legislator of the Year: Massachusetts State Senator James Eldridge
• Citizen Planner: Malcolm McGregor

II. Outstanding Planning Awards

Comprehensive Planning:

• Regional: MetroFuture: Making a Greater Boston Region
• Regional, Honorable Mention: 2009 Cape Cod Regional Policy Plan
• Population > 50,000: Lowell Hamilton Canal District Master Plan
• Population < 50,0000 (Tie): Dedham Master Plan and Planning to Thrive;  City of Pittsfield Master Plan

Planning Project:

• Regional: Contextual Design on Cape Cod, Design Guidelines for Large Scale Development
• Population < 50,000: East Hopkinton Land Use Strategy and Zoning Recommendations and the Resulting Open Space Mixed Use Development Overlay District
• Population > 50,0000: Framingham Downtown Study
• Honorable Mention: Quincy Public Art and Place-Making Ordinance
• Social Advocacy Award: Quincy “Housing First” Model
• Honorable Mention: Lowell: A City-Building Vision for the Hamilton Canal District and the Neighborhoods
  Student Project Award: Sophisticated Matchmaking: Identifying Opportunities for Affordable Housing Development in Medford, Tufts
• Honorable Mention: Return to Main Street: A Revitalization Plan for the Wollaston Neighborhood Center

Media Award: Quincy Community Development Week
MAPD Chapter Award: Southborough Comprehensive Plan
APA-MA President Award: South Coast Rail Project: Economic Development and Land Use Corridor Plan

III. Charles E. Downe Trustees Distinguished Service Award: Phil Herr
Special thanks to the APA-MA Award Committee:

Donna Jacobs, Cornerstone Community Planning, Chair
Peter Lowitt AICP, Devens Economic Commission
Marijoan Bull, Westfield State College
Jessica Rowcroft, Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation