After many hours of review, discussion and debate, industry judges have chosen 20 projects as ENR’s best of the best, representing the pinnacle of design and construction achievement in their respective categories from around of the USA.
The competition began last March with a call for proposals, which resulted in more than 800 project teams submitting their best work to the regional Best Projects competitions. In each of the 10 regions, the editors assembled a panel of judges to select winners in 18 construction industry categories from entries made between May 2023 and May 2024. Projects were also chosen for special awards that they cited Excellence in Safety and Excellence in Sustainability.
The regional winners chosen in each category went on to the national competition – more than 200 projects in total. A new panel of 19 judges from across the U.S. and industry sectors examined each project to choose the best of the best based on teamwork, safety, overcoming challenges, innovation and quality.
The judges were Joe Cazares, Jacobs; Nicholas DeNichilo, Mott MacDonald (retired); Keith Douglas, The Whiting-Turner Contracting Co.; Bart Eberwein, Hoffman Corp. (retired); Camilo Garcia, DPR; Emily Harrold, Multi.studio; Sam Hassoun, GLA Corp.; Randy Iwasaki, Iwasaki Consulting Services; Parham Khoshkbari, Google; A. Ben Perrone, Sundt; Rachel Rasmussen, Architekton; John Schaufelberger, University of Washington College of Built Environments; Cliff Schexnayder, Del E. Webb School of Construction, Arizona State University; Brad Tackett, Sundt; and Claire Weisz, WXY Studio.
Safety experts Steve Acosta of Blach Construction and Carl Heinlein of American Contractors Insurance Group judged the Excellence in Safety award, reviewing incident rates, man hours and innovation in safety programs to determine the winner.
Green building experts Yayu Lin of Northern California’s Sares Regis Group and Shefali H. Sanghvi of Dattner Architects selected the Excellence in Sustainability honoree based on the level of innovation and intensity of the strategy of sustainability of a project and the success of its result.
The winning projects will be featured in more depth in ENR magazine on March 17, 2025. Also in this issue, ENR editors, in collaboration with the judges, will select three finalists for Project of the Year which will include The Project of the Year. Finalists will be revealed in the coming weeks.
Join the winners in New York City on March 27, when the project teams will receive their awards at a brunch at Pier Sixty, Chelsea Piers in New York City, and later recognized, along with the 25 best news producers and the winner of the award for excellence, during the annual edition of ENR. Excellence Award Gala that night at Pier Sixty.
For more information, visit https://www.enr.com/enr-award-of-excellence.
Stay tuned for the launch of next year’s US Best Projects regional competition. For more information, visit last year’s entry page at www.enr.com/bestprojects/ Entry dates and eligibility will be updated once the call opens in the spring.
Airport/Traffic
Northwest Phase II Extension Light Rail Transit, located in Phoenix. Originally Posted by Kiewit-McCarthy Joint Venture (KMJV) a ENR southwest
Cultural/Cult
Missouri Botanical Garden Jack C. Taylor Visitor Center, located in St. Louis, Missouri. Originally Posted by IMEG Corp. a ENR mid west
Energy/Industrial
Baytown Supermodule Furnace, located in Baytown, Texas. Originally Posted by PCL Industrial Construction Co. a ENR Texas and Louisiana
Excellence in security
Midtown Union, located in Atlanta. Originally Posted by Brasfield and Gorrie a ENR southeast
Excellence in sustainability
County of San Mateo County Office Building 3 (COB3), located in Redwood City, Calif. Originally Posted by Truebeck Construction a ENR California
Government/public building
San Diego County Southeastern Live Well Center, located in San Diego. Originally Posted by PCL construction a ENR California
Health Care
Mayo Clinic AZ Bold Forward West Expansion, located in Phoenix. Originally Posted by DPR construction a ENR southwest
Higher Education/Research
Advanced Engineering Building at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, located in Las Vegas. Originally Posted by CORE construction a ENR southwest
road/bridge
Replacement of tower lifts and various. Rehabilitation of the Marine Parkway-Gil Hodges Memorial Bridge (MP-09), located in Brooklyn, New York Originally Posted by Kiewit Infrastructure Co. a ENR new york
Interior/tenant improvement
Google St. John’s Terminal, located in New York City. Originally Posted by Tone of the structure a ENR new york
K-12 education
Bard High School Early College, located in Washington, DC Originally Posted by MCN Build a ENR Middle Atlantic
Landscape/Urban Development
East Midtown Greenway, located in New York City. Originally Posted by Skanska a ENR new york
Manufacturing
United Therapeutics Phase 5 cGMP Warehouse, located in Durham, North Carolina Originally Posted by DPR construction a ENR southeast
Office/Retail/Mixed Use
The Aerie On-Mountain Restaurant, located in Frisco (Copper Mountain), Colo. Originally Posted by Hyder Construction a ENR mountain states
Reform/Restoration
Victory Lofts, located in Johnson City, New York Originally Posted by LeChase Construction Services LLC a ENR new york
Residential/Hospitality
The Fifth Avenue Hotel, located in New York City. Originally Posted by CNY Group a ENR new york
Small Project
Reconstruction of the Spellacy Bridge, located in Holmes County, Ohio. Originally Posted by Kokosing Construction Co. Inc. a ENR mid west
Construction specialty
Minnesota Zoo Treetop Trail, located in Apple Valley, Minnesota. Originally Posted by PCL construction a ENR mid west
Sports/Entertainment
Expansion of the Colorado Convention Center, located in Denver. Originally Posted by Hensel Phelps a ENR mountain states
Water/Environment
Denver North Water Treatment Plant, located in Arvada, Colorado. Originally Posted by GBSM Inc. a ENR mountain states
