ENR Midwest is proud to announce the winners of its annual Best Projects Awards. We had more than 100 entries that our independent group of judges evaluated, scored and determined final winners for, so it was no small task to whittle that list down. Our winners include a skyscraper built on top of an active rail line near the Chicago River, several innovative office buildings, the meticulous restoration of a state capitol building, multiple rail projects that brought service to underserved downtowns in large cities, one of the largest LEED-platinum corporate offices in the U.S., retrofits to aging coal-fired electrical plants that brought them into modern environmental compliance and some healthcare projects that put patients first.
All of this year’s winners will be profiled in depth in the November print edition of ENR Midwest. ENR Midwest will also honor each winning project at our November 29 awards luncheon at the Westin Chicago River North. We will also recognize the firms that were selected throughout the year as the region's owner, design firm, contractor and specialty contractor of the year at the luncheon.
For more information on the event, or to register, click here.
As with our other awards programs, this year’s Best Projects featured an expanded region that added “new” states including Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Minnesota, and Nebraska to the “old” region that only comprised Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Missouri, Ohio and Wisconsin. The new 342,000 square miles of construction markets added some great projects to our coverage area, many of whom came away with awards.
How do we determine what is a Best Project? Every year, ENR Midwest assembles independent judges from architecture, engineering and construction firms in the area. After an initial scoring of projects, the judges—via two separate panels—met via teleconference to discuss the projects and come to a consensus on awards. Judges could select any combination of Best Project-level category winners and Award of Merit honorees. It was not an easy task to narrow down so many great entries and this year’s judges deserve praise for the rigor they brought to the task.
ENR Midwest extends its thanks to Randy Bredar, SVP at JE Dunn Construction; Renato Gilberti, senior architectural designer at BKV Group; Greg Douglas, VP of construction innovation at Miron Construction Company; Sam Mishelow, chief strategy officer at Meyer Najem Construction; Shawn Anderton VP at Graycor Industrial Constructors; Jeff Emrick, director of safety and compliance at Ozinga Bros. (who led our safety judging) and Peter Nielsen, sr. project manager at IHC Construction for judging so many entries and delivering a professional, well-debated slate of winners.
Here are this year’s Best Projects award winners. Congrats to all!
Airports/Transit
Best Project: Milwaukee Intermodal Station Train Shed and Platforms Renovation
Submitted by: JP Cullen
Award of Merit: Detroit’s M1 Rail Streetcar Project
Submitted by: HNTB
Award of Merit: Cincinnati Streetcar/Bell Connector
Submitted by: WSP USA
Cultural/Worship
Best Project: Church of the Resurrection Sanctuary, Leawood, Kansas
Submitted by: McCownGordon Construction
Award of Merit: Chicago Botanic Garden – The Regenstein Learning Campus
Submitted by: Turner Construction Company
Energy/Industrial
Best Project: Coal-Fired Plant (Dry Sorbent Injection) DSI and ACI (Activated Carbon Injection) Installation for Mercury and Toxics Standards Compliance, four plants in Metropolitan Detroit
Submitted by: Barton Malow Company
Government/Public Buildings
Best Project: Minnesota State Capitol Repairs, Restoration and Preservation
Submitted by: JE Dunn Construction
Green Projects
Best Project: Zurich North America Headquarters, Schaumburg, Ill.
Submitted by: Clayco, Inc.
Award of Merit: Peter B. Lewis Gateway Center, Oberlin, Ohio
Submitted by: IMEG Corp.
Health Care
Best Project: The University of Chicago Medicine Center for Care and Discovery
Submitted by: Gilbane Building Co.
Award of Merit: Shirley Ryan Ability Lab, Chicago
Submitted by: Arcadis US, Inc.
Award of Merit: Lake Forest Replacement Hospital, Ill.
Submitted by: Turner Construction Company
Higher Education/Research
Best Project: University of Iowa Visual Arts Building, Iowa City
Submitted by: Miron Construction Co., Inc.
Award of Merit: Ohio State North Residential District Transformation, Columbus
Submitted by: Messer Construction Co.
Highways/Bridges
Best Project: Louisville-Southern Indiana Ohio River Bridges Project East End Crossing
Submitted by: Parsons Corporation
Award of Merit: Hennepin County Franklin Avenue Bridge Restoration, Minneapolis
Submitted by: Kraemer North America, LLC
Award of Merit: Adams Street Viaduct and Rehabilitation of the Adams Street double-leaf, Chicago-Style Trunnion Bascule Bridges
Submitted by: Milhouse Engineering & Construction, Inc.
K-12 Education
Best Project: Legacy Charter School, Chicago
Submitted by: W. B. Olson, Inc.
Landscape/Hardscape/Urban Design
Best Project: Chicago Riverwalk
Submitted by: Alfred Benesch & Company
Manufacturing
Best Project: Riddell North Ridgeville, Ohio
Submitted by: Peak Construction Corporation
Office/Retail/Mixed-Use
Best Project: 150 N. Riverside, Chicago
Submitted by: Clark Construction Group, LLC
Award of Merit: Downtown East Minneapolis
Submitted by: Ryan Companies
Award of Merit: Cerner Innovations Campus, Kansas City
Submitted by: JE Dunn Construction
Renovation/Restoration
Best Project: The Lofts at River East, Chicago
Submitted by: Ghafari Associates LLC
Award of Merit: Eleven25 at Pabst, Milwaukee
Submitted by: Blue Ribbon Management
Residential/Hospitality
Best Project: University of Chicago Campus North Residential Commons
Submitted by: Mortenson Construction
Award of Merit: Hilton Cleveland Downtown
Submitted by: Turner Construction Company
Small Project (Under $10 million)
Best Project: West River Parkway Landslide Slope Repair, Minneapolis
Submitted by: Barr Engineering Co.
Award of Merit: Southwest Wet-Weather Control Facility, Elmhurst, Ill.
Submitted by: RJN Group, Inc.
Specialty Construction
Best Project: Water Jet Peening Crane, Burlington, Kansas
Submitted by: Merrick & Company
Sports/Entertainment
Best Project: Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall, Bloomington, Ind.
Submitted by: Shiel Sexton Company
Award of Merit: Indianapolis Motor Speedway
Submitted by: AECOM Hunt
Water/Environment
Best Project: Lake Delhi Dam Reconstruction, Iowa
Submitted by: Stanley Consultants
Safety Award
Best Project: University of Chicago Medicine Center
Submitted by: Gilbane Building Co.
Award of Merit: US 69 Missouri River Bridge, Platte County, Mo.
Submitted by: American Bridge Company
