ENR Northwest is pleased to announce the winners of its 2023 Best Projects competition.

After several weeks of hard work, an independent group of AEC experts reviewed 26 projects from across Washington, Oregon and Alaska to select 12 Best Projects and 5 Awards of Merit. Separate panels chose winners and awards of merit for the region's Excellence in Safety and  Excellence in Sustainability contests.

As always, to avoid conflicts of interest, our judges did not score any categories in which their firms submitted entries, and abstained from scoring projects on which they had any involvement.

The judges for the 2023 ENR Northwest Best Projects contest were Kyle Boehnlein, vice president, J.E. Dunn Construction; Shane Ruegamer, Interim Director of the Project Delivery Group, University of Washington and Anne Timmermans, PM/CM Group Lead for Seattle and Bremerton, Parametrix.

The judges for the 2023 ENR Northwest Excellence in Safety contest were Alan Hayes, Safety Director, California, JTM Construction Group and Brian Sorensen, Director of Safety, Exxel Pacific, Inc. The Judges for the 2023 ENR Northwest Excellence in Sustainability contest were Raven Adams, Sustainability Manager, Granite Construction and Erin McConahey, Principal, ARUP.

ENR Northwest Best Projects awards will be presented on Dec. 15 in Seattle at the Grand Hyatt Seattle (click here for more information). All winning project teams — as well as the Northwest region's Owner of the Year, Design Firm of the Year, Contractor of the Year, Specialty Contractor of the Year and Legacy Award winner – will be recognized at the luncheon.

In addition to selecting category winners, judges have also chosen three finalists for consideration as ENR Northwest's 2023 Project of the Year which will be announced in November. The winner will be announced at the December Best Projects event.

Congratulations to this year’s winners!

ENR Northwest's 2023 Regional Best Project Winners

Best Airport/Transit
Port of Alaska Petroleum and Cement Terminal Phase 2
Cook Inlet, Alaska
Submitted by Pacific Pile & Marine

Award of Merit - Airport/Transit
Best Excellence in Sustainability
TriMet Powell Garage
Portland, Ore.
Submitted by JE Dunn Construction

Best Cultural/Worship
La Conner Swinomish Library
La Conner, Wash.
Submitted by BuildingWork

Best Energy/Industrial
Excellence in Sustainability - Award of Merit
Microsoft Thermal Energy Center
Redmond, Wash.
Submitted by GLY Construction

Best Government/Public Building
Best Excellence in Safety
Joint Regional Correctional Facility
Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Wash.
Submitted by The Walsh Group

Best Higher Education/Research
OSU PacWave South Underground Construction
Seal Rock, Ore.
Submitted by Jacobs Engineering Group Inc.

Award of Merit - Higher Education/Research
University of Washington Tacoma Milgard Hall
Tacoma, Wash.
Submitted by Andersen Construction

Best Highway/Bridge
The West Seattle Corridor Bridge Rehabilitation and Strengthening (WSCBRS) Project
Seattle
Submitted by WSP USA

Award of Merit - Highway/Bridge
Union Street Pedestrian Bridge Waterfront Access Project
Seattle
Submitted by The Walsh Group

Best Interior/Tenant Improvement
On Inc., North American Headquarters
Portland, Ore.
Submitted by Swinerton

Best K-12 Education
Mountain View High School Replacement
Vancouver, Wash.
Submitted by Skanska USA Building

Best Office/Retail/Mixed-Use
Gensler Seattle’s Office Redesign
Seattle
Submitted by Gensler

Best Renovation/Restoration
US Bank Center
Seattle
Submitted by KHS&S

Award of Merit - Renovation/Restoration
Hatback Bar & Grille
Seattle
Submitted by Andersen Construction

Best Residential/Hospitality
Ovation Apartment Towers
Seattle
Submitted by JTM Construction

Award of Merit - Residential/Hospitality
The Accolade
Seattle
Submitted by Exxel Pacific, Inc.

Best Water/Environment
Award of Merit - Excellence in Safety
I-5 & SR 11, Padden Creek Fish Passage Design Build Project
Bellingham, Wash.
Submitted by Granite Construction Co.