FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

2006 Envision Central Texas Community Stewardship Award Recipients Announced Date: Wednesday, May 17, 2006

(AUSTIN) More than 400 people were on hand to witness the presentation of the first Envision Central Texas (ECT) Community Stewardship Awards at a luncheon at the Hyatt Regency on Wednesday, May 17. The recipient of the first W. Neal Kocurek Legacy Award was Patricia Hayes, executive vice president and chief operating officer of Seton Healthcare Network. Other Award Recipients included: New Development - Plum Creek; Redevelopment -Saltillo Lofts; Pioneer - Sinclair Black; Public Policy and Planning - Leander TOD; and Raising Public Awareness - Greater Edward's Aquifer Alliance.

The Keynote Speaker for the luncheon was Robert D. Yaro, president of the Regional Plan Association. Headquartered in Manhattan and founded in 1922, RPA is Americaˇ¦s oldest and most respected independent metropolitan research and advocacy group.

In order for the awards to be judged impartially ECT recruited some of the country's leading experts in planning, transportation, green space and social issues to be jurors. Their decisions were based on how the projects exemplified or reflected some or all of the seven elements of the Envision Central Texas Vision, with particular emphasis in 2006 on the manner in which the submissions have demonstrated a commitment to community stewardship. Jurors for the 2006 ECT Community Stewardship Awards were:

- Frank Beal, Chicago Metropolis 2020. Frank Beal is the executive director of Chicago Metropolis 2020, an organization established to address regional issues vital to the Chicago area's social and economic well-being including urban sprawl, concentration of poor minorities, the spatial mismatch between jobs, affordable housing and transportation.
- Martha T. Blaine, Community Council of Greater Dallas. Martha Blaine is executive director of the Community Council of Greater Dallas, a position she has held for the past eleven years. In that role, she is responsible for leading the organizations' efforts to identify and plan for health and human service needs, while also connecting people to the services they need.
- Fernando Costa, AICP, City of Fort Worth.
Fernando Costa has served as planning director for the City of Fort Worth since 1998. Before moving to Texas, he served for 11 years as planning director for the City of Atlanta, where he helped community leaders use the 1996 Olympic Games and a federal empowerment zone designation as catalysts for revitalizing Atlanta. He chairs the development excellence steering committee for the North Central Texas Council of Governments.
- Charles A. Flink, Greenways Incorporated
Charles A. Flink is founder and president of Greenways Incorporated, an environmental planning and landscape architecture company established in 1986 and based in Durham, North Carolina. He is widely regarded as one of the nation's leading greenway planners.
- Susan L. Handy, University of California, Davis
Dr. Susan Handy is Associate Professor in the Department of Environmental Science and Policy and the Institute of Transportation Studies, at the University of California at Davis. Previously, she held the positions of Assistant and Associate Professor at the University of Texas at Austin, in the Community and Regional Planning Program of the School of Architecture.
- William H. Hudnut, Urban Land Institute
Best known for his 16-year tenure as mayor of Indianapolis, William Hudnut has also had a richly variegated career as Congressman, clergyman, author and public speaker. He is presently deeply involved in regional issues across the U.S. as Senior Resident Fellow for Public Policy at the Washington-based Urban Land Institute.

Descriptions of the 2006 ECT Community Stewardship Award Finalists and Award Recipients:

New Development
Recognizes developments that are constructed on previously undeveloped sites and successfully exemplify the ECT Vision.
Finalist: Heatherwood
Located near Dripping Springs in Hays County, Heatherwood is a 12-acre conservation development developed by Papalote Homes, Ltd. that focuses on affordability and responsible development. The 17 home sites are clustered on three acres, leaving nine undeveloped acres. There are abundant trees open space and wildlife habitat, along with walking trails, picnic areas and a centrally located children's park.
Finalist: The Triangle,
The Triangle is a 22-acre, mixed-use development in Central Austin featuring restaurants, retail shops and high-end residential apartments. Simmons Vedder's development at The Triangle comprises 14 acres and includes four residential buildings (two with ground level retail), a lake to accommodate drainage, a Capital Metro Park-and-Ride and a City of Austin park; the remaining acreage is being developed by Cencor Realty as a retail center.
Award Recipient: Plum Creek
Plum Creek is a 2,200-acre, mixed-use, master-planned Traditional Neighborhood Development created by Plum Creek Development in Kyle in Hays County. The community is built on a human scale with traditional architecture, front porches, narrow tree-lined streets, and alleyways to hide garages. Pocket parks, schools and retail/medical/office space are all locate within walking distance of the homes. Award recipients were Peter French, Plum Creek Development and David Mahn, Benchmark land Development.

Redevelopment
Recognizes developments that re-use existing structures or sites and successfully exemplifies the ECT Vision.
Finalist: Dell Childrenˇ's Medical Center
The Dell Children's Medical Center of Central Texas is situated on 32 acres off IH 35 in Central Austin. Seton Healthcare Network's new hospital will establish the architectural character of the overall urban campus portion of the 700-acre Robert Mueller Municipal Airport redevelopment. The $200M, 169-bed, state-of-the-art pediatric hospital will spur development such as retail, office and residential units, and will employ 1,000+ working around the clock, therefore reducing rush-hour traffic as compared to an 8-5 employer. A 145 foot wayfinding tower will act as a landmark for the project and for the community of East Austin. The facility is also poised to achieve the highest environmental certification given by the U.S. Green Building Council (Platinum).
Finalist: Sanctuary Lofts
Momark Development, developer of the Sanctuary Lofts in downtown San Marcos in Hays County, converted the historic First Baptist Church Sanctuary and the surrounding property into a mixed-use ˇ§urban village.ˇ¨ The project includes 230 residential units that will vary in size, style and price, a small chapel, retail space, television game room, study/meeting rooms, and similar amenities. Retail space within the development will likely include a coffee shop, sandwich shop and a dry cleaners. Six live/work units will be accessed along the front of the project.
Award Recipient: Saltillo Lofts
Developed by Perry Lorenz and Larry Warshaw, Saltillo Lofts is a mixed-use infill development one-half mile east of downtown Austin. The transit-oriented development is located across from a commuter rail station scheduled to open in 2008. The project includes 29 residences and 8 commercial live-work units on one acre. Saltillo Lofts was rated three stars by the Austin Green Builder Program. The project is the first completed mixed use TOD project in Central Texas and was designed by Hailey I Johnson Architects. The award recipients were Perry Lorenz, Saltillo Development, Ltd. and Kit Johnson, Hailey I Johnson Architects.

Pioneer
Recognizes an individual, company, organization or governmental entity that has left familiar territory and taken a different path that reflects the ECT Vision.
Finalist: Pete Dwyer, Dwyer Realty Companies Through his planning efforts in Manor in eastern Travis County, Pete Dwyer, and Dwyer Realty Companies have strived to implement a regional vision based on ECT tenets. Pete has worked with multiple stakeholders to create development projects that are economic stimulants with great quality of life and affordable housing. With more than 1,100 acres of open space slated for donation or dedication, 15,000 single family homes, 10,000 multi-family units, several million square feet of retail space, discussions with local universities underway, and commuter rail feasibility currently being studied, Pete has shown an all-inclusive approach to planning and executing projects in an area that has previously been overlooked.
Finalist: Michael McGinnis
In 2002, the Austin City Council initiated the idea of a combined plan for the seven neighborhoods surrounding the University of Texas. At the outset, many thought it was an impossible task. Mike McGinnis is primarily responsible for the ultimate progressive development and final adoption of an outstanding plan. Mike believed passionately in the vision of bringing students back to the campus and revitalizing participation in campus life. He believed in providing abundant, affordable housing within walking distance of the campus and in preserving the character of the old historic neighborhoods while increasing density.
Finalist: H.Y. Price Senior Center
Built in 1893, the H.Y. Price Building is located on a quarter of a block in downtown San Marcos in Hays County. This historic church was being considered for demolition when Ron and Marie Jager and the Seniors Association began its long effort to renovate and restore the property. This community project
involved both the public and private sectors and the collaboration has turned an empty downtown building
to a wonderful new community center for people of all ages. The Center has no paid employees ˇV the Jagers have taken on its restoration and operation as the focus of their retirement years.
Award Recipient: Sinclair Black
For 35 years, Sinclair Black has been making a difference where he lives through teaching architecture at UT, writing, practicing architecture at Black/Vernooy and involvement in civic initiatives such as the Downtown Austin Alliance, Trust for Public Land and Urban Land Institute. Sinclair has long advocated compact communities with dense, mixed-use, walkable districts based upon rail transit as the alternative to endless sprawl. His contributions include, Austin Creeks, the well received open space study, the Great Streets Master Plan, and tireless efforts to preserve Seaholm Power Plant for future civic uses.

Public Planning and Policy
Recognizes an organization or governmental entity for implementing a program or policy that facilitates and promotes the ECT Vision.
Finalist: Austin Area Early Action Compact
The Austin Area Early Action Compact (EAC) is the result of long-term regional cooperation, which began more than a decade ago with the founding of the Clean Air Force of Central Texas. The Clean Air Coalition and the EAC Task Force engaged in a public planning process and a policy implementation effort to protect the health, environment and economy of our region. As a result of the EAC, the tangible costs of a potential nonattainment designation for ground level ozone have been avoided through 2007. At the same time, the EAC is producing health benefits by reducing air pollution in the region sooner than any nonattainment designation could have mandated.
Finalist: City of Georgetown Downtown Master Plan
The City of Georgetown in Williamson County understands the vital nature of its downtown as a key to its overall quality of life. The city undertook two projects toward that end, the Downtown Design Guidelines and the Downtown Master Plan (DMP). One of the main objectives of the DMP was the integration of
transportation and land use planning to create an environment that focuses first on the pedestrian and second on accommodating automobiles. The plan is based on three elements: downtown is a pedestrian-oriented place; downtown is the heart of the city; and, downtown is the economic center for the entire business community.
Finalist: Robert Mueller Municipal Airport Redevelopment The redevelopment of Mueller into a mixed-use urban village has helped Austin and Central Texas chart new directions for urban growth and city planning. At completion, Mueller will contribute to the city's vitality and prosperity, becoming home to 10,000 residents and 10,000 jobs, providing approximately 1,150 units of affordable housing, 140 acres of public open space and other community amenities. Mueller will be a showcase of transit-oriented and pedestrian-friendly development, a model of
sustainability principles and a laboratory for innovative approaches to community development. Mueller's award-winning master plan was crafted by ROMA Design Group and is being implemented by the City of Austin and Catellus Development Group.
Award Recipient: Leander Transit-Oriented Development
Leander's location at the northwestern edge of the Central Texas growth corridor in Williamson County has made it one of the fastest growing cities in the state. In 2003, Mayor John Cowman, Capital Metro Chair Lee Walker, and other leaders traveled around the country to evaluate New Urbanism and transit-oriented development. The delegation became convinced that planning, form-based code reforms and a leveraging of transportation facilities could harness growth into sustainable, pedestrian-friendly, mixed-use neighborhoods. After an extensive and detailed planning and community input process, Leander has now created a 2000-acre TOD that uses a form-based code and a new Master Plan adopted in 2005. Gateway Planning Group served as the consultant team for the TOD. Award recipients: Mayor John Cowman, City of Leander, Lee Walker, CapMetro and Rep. Mike Krusee.

Raising Public Awareness
Recognizes an organization for educating the public or raising awareness of the ECT Vision or its principles.
Finalist: African American Quality of Life Position Paper
The African American Quality of Life initiative began as a result of the City of Austin's scorecard on the conditions and sentiment of Austin's African American community. After a number of community town hall meetings, 28 recommendations were presented by consultant Group Solutions RJW. The council also heard a report of the African American Quality of Life Project Implementation Team, developed through community discussions held in April and October 2005. The presentation was the
culmination of more than four months of work by the teams in response to six Quality of Life Forums and a town hall meeting that was held by the community team to further enhance the original recommendations presented by Group Solutions RJW.
Finalist: Capital Metro
As the public transportation provider for Central Texas, Capital Metro has a major goal of educating the public and creating awareness about transportation and transit issues. Since 2004, Capital Metro held 21 community-wide open houses and workshops, in addition to dozens of public briefings, in the development of its All Systems Go plan. The plan incorporated the participation of more than 8,000 Central Texans who together drafted the transportation plan. Capital Metro has also created Community Connection to work directly with the community to identify and prioritize transit investments. In addition, CapMetro provides bus advertising space for public service issues.
Award Recipient: Greater Edwards Aquifer Alliance The Edwards Aquifer, which lies beneath several Central Texas counties, is one of the region's most important natural assets. The Greater Edwards Aquifer Alliance, made up of more than 40 Central Texas environmental groups, is dedicated to educating the public about the sensitivity of the aquifer and the significance of the region's water supplies that flow from this source. The impact of this coalition in educating the public about the importance of protecting the aquifer will have a much greater effect than individual groups working alone in their towns or counties. Award Recipients: Annalisa Peace, Bill Bunch.

Sponsors for the ECT Community Stewardship Awards Luncheon were: Gold Sponsors-Locke Liddell & Sapp, LLP and URS; Silver Sponsors-Capital Metro, Catellus Development Group, City of Georgetown, Cypress Real Estate Advisors, Doucet & Associates, Inc., Gateway Planning Group, Hill County Alliance, Papalote Homes, Ltd., Plum Creek Development, Seaholm Power, LLC, Texas Gas Service; Non-Profit Sponsors-Austin Area Research Organization, Central Austin Combined Neighborhoods Planning Area, City of Austin, City of Leander, City of Pflugerville, City of San Marcos, Downtown Austin Alliance, Greater Leander Chamber of Commerce, HaysCAN, Liveable City, Real Estate Council of Austin, Seton Healthcare Network, Texas State University-San Marcos, and Trust for Public Land.

About Envision Central Texas
Central Texas will add more than a million people over the next 20 to 30 years. To help address this growth, Envision Central Texas, a five-county non- profit organization, will promote a common vision for the region which preserves and enhances our natural resources, economic vitality, social equity and overall quality of living.

Envision Central Texas, 2512 S. IH 35, Suite 340, Austin, Texas 78704 Phone: 512.916.6037,
Fax: 512:916.6042, Email: dmiller@envisioncentraltexas.org Web: www.envisioncentraltexas.org

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