2025 ULI Americas Awards for Excellence Winners Series: Community Wellness & Engagement

When

2025-09-24
2025-09-24T13:00:00 - 2025-09-24T14:00:00
America/New_York

Choose Your Calendar

    Where

    ZOOM

    Contact

    customerservice@uli.org

    (800) 321-5011

    Pricing

    Pricing Members Non-Members
    Private FREE $55.00
    Public/Academic/Nonprofit FREE $55.00
    Retired FREE N/A
    Student FREE $25.00
    Under Age 35 FREE $35.00

    As the real estate industry navigates shifting economic conditions and evolving community needs, the importance of recognizing projects that exemplify innovation, resilience, and impact has never been greater. Since 1979, ULI’s Americas Awards for Excellence program has honored outstanding development across the private, public, and nonprofit sectors.  

    Join us for part 3 of a four-part webinar series spotlighting the 2025 winners. This session, moderated by Kacey Cordes, Vice President and Director of Operations at U.S. Bancorp Impact Finance and ULI AAE 2025 jury member, features a panel of developers and designers representing exemplary Community Wellness & Engagement projects: Hunter’s Point South Park, and Tom Lee Park.   

    Through compelling case studies and candid discussion, panelists will share lessons learned, design and development insights, and the collaborative strategies that brought these award-winning projects to life.   

    Who Should Attend: This webinar is for ULI members and non-members who seek inspiration and insights into transformative developments across sectors. 
     

    What to Expect: 

    • Presentations from each winning project 

    • Moderated discussion 

    • Live Q/A and discussion with the audience  

    Call to Action: Register now for this exclusive ULI Americas for Excellence Winners Series webinar and gain insights into the strategies behind the exceptional projects that are shaping the future of commercial real estate. 

    We invite you to join us on the other webinars featured in this series:  

    Speakers

    Moderator

    Kacey Cordes

    Vice President, US Bancorp Impact Finance

    Kacey Cordes is a Vice President at U.S. Bancorp Impact Finance where she serves as the Director of Operations for Affordable Housing. She supports a team of 150 individuals who originate and manage investments and loans totaling more than $3B annually that produce affordable rental housing across the country. In this role, she provides leadership and tactical support for key business line initiatives, curates thought leadership sessions and annual convenings to advance talent development, and directs data management efforts for the business line. She joined the Bank in 2007, and after closing more than $300MM in equity investments over five years, she shifted into a people leader and first-line reviewer role for more than a decade, followed by a few years specializing in onboarding and training new project management hires during a period of exponential growth. Prior to the Bank, she worked in market-rate multi-family development, project managing both new construction and rehabs. Kacey holds a Master of Science in Real Estate Development from Columbia University and a B.A. in Political Science and International Business from Washington University in St. Louis. She has held various leadership roles within the Urban Land Institute, including Chair of the St. Louis District Council and Chair of the Public-Private Partnerships Council, and currently serves on the jury for the Americas Awards for Excellence as well as the Future of Cities initiative.

    Panelist

    Thomas Balsley

    Managing Design Principal, SWA/Balsley

    Tom Balsley, FASLA, is a world-renowned landscape architect whose New York-based studio, SWA/Balsley, is best known for its fusion of landscape and urbanism into award-winning parks and waterfronts often found in the margins and post-industrial edges of cities. Sparking the public’s imagination, he has reshaped urban public realms throughout the U.S. and abroad with verdant, sustainable civic spaces that are teeming with life. Having created over 100 such spaces in New York City alone, including the highly acclaimed Hunter’s Point South Park, Tom’s commitment to innovative design continues to connect people with place, each other, and to the current culture of recreation, urbanism, and sustainability.

    Panelist

    Len Greco

    Senior Vice President, New York City Economic Development Corporation

    Len Greco is a Senior Vice President in the Capital Program of the New York City Economic Development Corporation. The department manages a multi-billion-dollar portfolio of 90+ projects in various phases of design and construction, with a staff of 53 engineers, architects, landscape architects, and other technical and administrative project support staff. Len provides oversight on design and construction services for a wide variety of capital projects that includes parks and open space, cultural facilities, libraries, streetscapes, waterfront developments, and many other special projects. He is a graduate of Rutgers University and holds a Bachelor of Science in Landscape Architecture.

    Panelist

    Andrew Kiepe

    Director of Development, Memphis River Parks Partnership

    Andrew Kiepe is a professional in urban development and public space management, currently serving as the Director of Development at the Memphis River Parks Partnership. In this role, he is involved in funding for revitalizing and maintaining the riverfront parks along the Mississippi River in Memphis, Tennessee. His work focuses on enhancing public spaces, fostering community engagement, and driving sustainable urban development. To date, his team has raised $80M in capital funding for the Riverfront including projects like Tom Lee Park and the under-construction Memphis Flyway. Before joining the Memphis River Parks Partnership, Andrew worked with the Memphis Grizzlies, where he managed a multi-million dollar book of business. He studied at the University of Memphis and has built his career in the city, where he remains dedicated to its growth and revitalization efforts.

    Panelist

    Chris Bennett

    Design Director, Studio Gang

    Chris Bennett is a Design Director at Studio Gang’s Chicago office, where he leads projects at the intersection of architecture, urban design, and landscape. With a focus on the interface between large-scale urban interventions and the intimate architectural moments within them, Chris brings a holistic design approach that prioritizes human experience while fostering connectivity to the broader ecological and cultural landscape. Most recently, he was the project leader for Tom Lee Park in Memphis, Tennessee, a transformative redevelopment of nearly 30 acres along the Memphis riverfront. Reimagined as a dynamic, inclusive, and ecologically rich public space, the park reconnects the city to the Mississippi River while providing vibrant gathering spaces, play areas, and ecological restoration zones.

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