ENR East Best Projects Move Industry Forward | Engineering News-Record
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ENR East Best Projects Move Industry Forward

Industry judges scored projects on challenges, teamwork, safety and sustainability

The I-64 Improvement and Kanawha River Bridge
Photo courtesy HDR

The I-64 Improvement and Kanawha River Bridge in Nitro, W.Va., was named an ENR MidAtlantic Project of the Year Finalist and a Best Project in the highway/bridge category.

November 19, 2025

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MidAtlantic Projects
New York Projects
New England Projects

ENR’s regional design , contractor and specialty contractor firm rankings looked different this year after consolidation of multiple regional magazine editions into five new ones: East, Midwest, Mountain States & Southwest, Southeast & Texas and West. But ENR’s hallmark Best Projects awards remain the same.

While the former ENR MidAtlantic, ENR New England and ENR New York firm rankings now are merged under the ENR East umbrella this year, the regional Best Projects competitions are still separated into their previous three subregions.

Industry judges from the MidAtlantic region remained as impressed as ever with projects from Delaware, District of Columbia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia and West Virginia, while the ENR New York judges scored projects located in New York and New Jersey. ENR New England includes Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont.

In all, judges from the three regions reviewed a total of more than 175 entries in the main categories. Projects were evaluated on a team’s ability to overcome challenges, display design and construction quality, execute work safely, contribute to industry innovation and best practices and benefit the community. All projects had to be completed between May 1, 2024, and May 31, 2025.

Due to the large number of entries, we can only cite a fraction of projects submitted each year, so projects that did not win this year can be submitted next year if they are still eligible.

In the MidAtlantic and New York regions, judges were divided into two groups and assigned a group of categories to help avoid conflicts of interest. In New England, there was one group of judges. Judges recused themselves from scoring projects in which they or their firms were involved.

Judges could select any combination of Best Project or award of merit category winners. In some categories, judges decided not to give an award or decided only to give an award of merit or a Best Project-level award.

Judges’ selection for this year’s overall Project of the Year and Project of the Year Finalists were selected from Best Project-level winners in their respective regions.

All Best Project-level award winners were automatically entered into our national Best of the Best contest. The Best of the Best winners will be announced in coming weeks, and winners will be recognized at our annual Award of Excellence event on March 27 in New York City.

The ENR New York Best Projects award winners will be recognized at an event in New York City on Nov. 20. For more information about the ENR New York Best Projects event, please visit: https://www.enr.com/enr-best-projects-awards/new-york.

All ENR MidAtlantic winners will be recognized at the ENR MidAtlantic Best Projects awards event on Dec. 9 in Baltimore. For more information about the event, please visit: https://www.enr.com/enr-best-projects-awards/baltimore.

The ENR New England Best Projects awards event is on Dec. 11 in Boston. For more information about the event, please visit https://www.enr.com/enr-best-projects-awards/boston.

Terminal Warehouse

Terminal Warehouse in New York City was named an ENR New York Project of the Year Finalist as well as the Best Project in the renovation/restoration category.
Photo courtesy Alex Ferrec/COOKFOX

MidAtlantic Magic

MidAtlantic judges selected 34 projects in 18 main categories for awards, including the Project of the Year: Reservoir Park Recreation Center in Washington, D.C. Submitted by Gilbane Building Co. and also selected as Best Project in the landscape/urban development category, the project is a 19,500-sq-ft community center that anchors a redevelopment of a 25-acre abandoned public utility site.

The area is now a vibrant, transit-oriented community destination with an indoor pool, outdoor “sprayground,” fitness facilities, multipurpose spaces and outdoor fitness stations. Part of 8 acres of parkland, the grounds feature a natural amphitheater, green roofing and community gardens.

Submitted by HDR, the I-64 Improvement and Kanawha River Bridge in Nitro, W.Va., was named a Best Project in the highway/bridge category and also a Project of the Year Finalist along with Stratos, Poplar House and Alula in Washington, D.C., which was submitted by HITT and selected as the Best Project in the residential/hospitality category.

This year’s MidAtlantic judges for the main categories were: Andrew J. Graham, senior associate, technical director at Leo A. Daly; Grisel Gray, director of preconstruction at STACK Infrastructure; Masjood Jafri, solution leader–energy transition, national energy transition strategic advisor, Arcadis; Brian Neckermann, senior project manager at Walsh Group - Walsh Construction & Archer Western; Lucia Sanchez, project manager at PJ Dick; and Chuck Tomasco Jr., division president at C3M Power Systems.

Boston’s Josiah Quincy Upper School

Boston’s Josiah Quincy Upper School is ENR New England’s Best Project in the K-12 education category and a Project of the Year Finalist.
Photo by Ed Wonsek, courtesy of Turner Construction Co.

New England News

This year’s New England judges—Matthew Arnold, founder of ArnoldAnd; Scott Bascom, associate architect at Sasaki; and Aidan Sullivan, assistant project manager at Consigli Construction, awarded 22 projects in 14 main categories.

The Project of the Year, the Tekαkαpimək Contact Station at Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument, located in Penobscot County, Maine, was submitted by Wright-Ryan Construction. The Best Project in the government/public building category created a culturally significant contact station to welcome visitors to Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument, integrating Wabanaki knowledge and values throughout its design and construction.

Built entirely off grid, the facility uses solar and thermal power, local materials and innovative passive systems to minimize its carbon footprint while advancing sustainable building practices.

The Josiah Quincy Upper School, located in Boston and submitted by Turner Construction Co., was named the winner of the Best Project in the K-12 education category and was a Project of the Year Finalist along with Parcel 12, which is also in Boston. It was submitted by Suffolk and was named the New England Best Project winner in the office/retail/mixed use category.

 

New York’s Big Winners

Delta Air Lines Inc. LGA Airfield Reconfiguration Program, named Best Project in the airport/transit category, is located in East Elmhurst, N.Y., and was named the ENR New York Project of the Year. Submitted by Turner Construction Co., the project was composed of more than 20 sub-projects completed over five years. The $2.8-billion redevelopment is the centerpiece of a major LaGuardia Airport makeover. There also were 24 other projects in 16 main categories.

The NYPD Headquarters - 1 Police Plaza - Electrical System Upgrade in New York City, submitted by H&L Electric, was selected as Best Project in the government/public building category and was also a Project of the Year Finalist.

The other Project of the Year finalist was Terminal Warehouse in New York City. It was submitted by Columbia Property Trust, L&L Holding Co., Cannon Hill Capital Partners and was the Best Project in the renovation/restoration category.

This year’s New York judges for the main categories were: Dana Blackwood, business manager at Turner Construction Co.; James Harrison, executive vice president at Schimenti Construction; KiSeok Jeon, vice president, digital advisory at STV; Ioanna Magiati, architect and partner at AO Architects; Craig Melograno, president at PDM Constructors; Stuart Meurer, president and CEO of Windover Construction; and Catherine Woodworth, area superintendent for Hensel Phelps.

 

Safe and Sustainable

As always, safety and sustainability awards were juried by a separate group of experts in those areas.

The sustainability judges for all three regions were: Lauren Alger, national director of sustainable design at STV; Jennifer Mahan, associate at Thornton Tomasetti; and Nate Russo, who is project engineer II at AECOM.

This year’s safety judge for all three regions was Bob McCall, director of safety, Master Builders’ Association of Western Pennsylvania.

Turn the page to learn which projects won the safety and sustainability awards in each region along with details of all of the ENR MidAtlantic, ENR New England and ENR New York Best Projects.


The Projects

MidAtlantic Best Projects


New York Best Projects


New England Best Projects

KEYWORDS: ENR 2025 East Best Projects Excellence In Safety Excellence in Sustainability MidAtlantic New England New York City Project Of The Year

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