Tom Lee Park Honored As Transformative Project in ULI’s 2025 Americas Awards for Excellence
Sukanya Sen | Urban Land Institute
From resilient parks to bold adaptive reuse, this year’s winners redefine urban innovation and community impact across the Americas
Ten developments from across the Americas have been selected as winners of the Urban Land Institute’s (ULI) 2025 ULI Americas Awards for Excellence.
ULI began the Awards for Excellence program in 1979 to recognize superior development efforts in the private, public, and nonprofit sectors. Winning projects represent the highest standards of achievement in the land use profession and encompass a wide range of land uses, sizes, investments, and geographic locations. The awards are open to projects and programs in the ULI Americas region that are substantially complete, financially viable, and in stable operation. The program evaluates submissions on overall excellence, including achievements in marketplace acceptance, design, planning, technology, amenities, economic impact, management, community engagement, innovation, and sustainability, among others.
This year, 94 projects and programs from across the Americas region were submitted for the competition. From this impressive field, the 15-member jury, composed of development, finance, planning, urban design, architecture, and landscape architecture experts, selected 18 finalists.
The 2025 ULI Americas Awards for Excellence winners include:
Tom Lee Park, Memphis, Tennessee
Blending civic design focused on equity, environmental restoration, and inclusive programming, Tom Lee Park features distinctive public spaces, educational opportunities, and cultural events. In its first year, it welcomed more than one million visitors, reflecting the transformative power of thoughtful and equitable urban investment and design. The park is the centerpiece of a century-long dream to connect Memphis with its riverfront. Named for Tom Lee, a Black laborer who heroically rescued 32 people from a capsized steamboat in 1925, the park honors his legacy of courage, generosity, and humanity.From resilient parks to bold adaptive reuse, this year’s winners redefine urban innovation and community impact across the Americas