Awards Criteria

Do you have a great project or company to nominate? Make sure:

• The project(s) were completed between July 1, 2023 and August 1, 2024. Temporary Certificate of Occupancy or Substantial Completion must be achieved prior to 8/1/2024. 
• Are private-sector project(s). Only nominations for the Affordable Housing Development of the Year may have public funding.  Nominations for all other categories are ineligible if developed with public funding or sponsored by public entities.
• Have at least one NAIOP Washington State member on the team, which shouldn't be hard. We have 1,000 members and are the 4th largest chapter nationwide. Click here to see a listing of NAIOP Washington State member companies.
• Nominate the project only in one (1) award category. There is no limit on the number of nominations from an individual; however, a project can only be nominated in one category. A nominated project also can be listed in the Developer of the Year for a firm.
• Your project is located in Washington state.

Each category will be judged based on the following criteria. Please note, NAIOPWA reserves the right to re-assign nominations, and add, amend, or drop categories based on nominations received. 

2024 People's Choice Award

The commercial real estate community will choose to elevate and celebrate one project that represents best-in-class development in Puget Sound. The gallery with public voting will be online from September 18 through October 3. Note: Developer of the Year and Deal of the Year nominations are excluded from this award. All other projects are eligible. You may vote for one project per day. Don't miss your opportunity to be a judge!

Affordable Housing Development of the Year

This award recognizes a project that exemplifies design, construction, and development excellence while creating lasting social, economic and environmental impacts. Projects should address the serious affordable housing crisis in our region. 100% of the residential units within the projects in this category must be income qualified.  

Community Impact of the Year

This award recognizes a project that made a significant impact on the community in which it is located or in which they have worked. Judges will evaluate elements such as, but not limited to, the significance of the short-term and projected long-term impacts on the community including jobs, social benefits, and environmental and physical amenities.

Deal of the Year     

This award recognizes a real estate transaction or development project team who demonstrated creativity in addressing items important to the successful completion of a transaction or project. Judges will evaluate aspects such as, but not limited to, financial, partnering and schedule complexities, and overall risk and reward.

Developer of the Year

This award recognizes an individual or company in the commercial real estate arena that has made significant contribution to a successful development project or projects over the last year in a manner that makes them stand out among their peers. This award seeks to honor a special achievement or a pattern of noteworthy achievements worthy of the respect of industry peers. Judges will evaluate aspects such as, but not limited to, volume and complexity of projects, risk factor, contribution to community and/or industry, setting new industry standards, and overall quality of projects. Nominations for Developer of the Year can include up to three projects in the firm nomination. Firms are eligible to win Developer of the Year twice during a five-year period. 

High-Rise Residential, Historic Renovation, Hospitality Development, Industrial Development, Mixed-Use Development, Multi-Family Residential, Office Development, Office Interior, Redevelopment/Renovation, Retail Development

These award categories recognize a development that exhibits a development team’s commitment to an outstanding quality product, success in the marketplace, and uniqueness in design of a project. Judges will evaluate aspects such as, but not limited to, project concept and design, tenant benefits, amenities, accomplishment of overall development goals, sustainability, degree of difficulty, and innovation.

• Historic Renovation projects must involve the renovation or modification to a certified designated landmark.
• Mixed-Use Development must satisfy the characteristics outlined in the ULI's Mixed-Use Development Handbook, Second Edition: 
  • three or more significant revenue-producing uses (such as retail/entertainment, office, residential, hotel, and/or civic/cultural/recreation) that in well planned projects are mutually supporting;
  • significant physical and functional integration of project components (and thus a relatively close-knit and intensive use of land), including uninterrupted pedestrian connections; and
  • development in conformance with a coherent plan (that frequently stipulates the type and scale of uses, permitted densities, and related items).
• Multi-Family Residential may include low-rise and garden style developments; single family residences are not eligible to apply. Urban is considered locations in Seattle and Bellevue proper as well as developments in central business districts of other major cities, like Tacoma, Redmond, Kirkland, etc. 
• Redevelopment/Renovation may include both core and shell and interior-only upgrades. Please provide before/after photos with your nomination form.

Sustainable Development of the Year

This award recognizes a project that exemplifies design, construction, and development excellence while creating lasting social, economic and environmental impacts.  Projects will be evaluated on their (1) conservation of ecology, energy and finite resources (environmental impact); (2) contribution to the health and wellness of community, inside and outside the building; promotion of social equity at a local and regional level (social impact); (3) cost effectiveness, economic vitality and contribution to local and regional economic development (economic impact); and (4) innovation and exploration to solve a problem, initiate positive change or advance industry best practices (initiation/innovation).

Conflicts & Confidentiality

The names of judges for the Night of the Stars Awards program are confidential until the finalists are announced and media embargo lifted on Sept. 18, 2024.  Sharing the list or contacting judges directly prior to Sept. 18, 2024 is prohibited and will result in the automatic withdraw of the soliciting nominated project. Additionally, to ensure a level playing field, it is prohibited to invite judges to tour nominated properties prior to Sept. 18, 2024.

The deliberations of the Night of the Stars Committee, judges and its subcommittees are confidential. The contents of nominations are also confidential and will not be shared, except for appropriate publicity of the winners as described in published guidelines for the Night of the Stars Awards program. The names of selected awardees are to remain confidential until the annual Gala when the winners have received official notice.  Should a nominator seek feedback on how his/her nominee fared, all such communications should be directed to info@naiopwa.org.

Questions?

Please contact info@naiopwa.org or 206-382-9121 with questions or to discuss a project category.

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