5/16/07 - Daniel Island Recognized with Land Planning Industry's Top Award

Urban Land Institute Names Charleston’s Island Town
Among Ten 2007 “Awards for Excellence” Winners

CHARLESTON, S.C. – Daniel Island has been selected as one of ten winners of the Urban Land Institute’s (ULI) 2007 Awards for Excellence, widely recognized internationally as the real estate and land planning industry’s most prestigious recognition program. In its 29th year, the awards program is the centerpiece of ULI’s efforts to identify and promote best practices in all types of real estate development.
Awards Jury Chairman Lee T. Hanley announced the Awards for Excellence winners during the ULI’s Spring Council Forum in Chicago on May 11, 2007.
“The Awards for Excellence program celebrates the creativity, vision, and best practices in land use,” Hanley said. “All of these projects represent the best examples of creative land use and planning.”
The 2007 winners were chosen from a field of 170 entries. Projects were evaluated on the basis of financial viability, resourceful use of land, design, relevance to contemporary issues and sensitivity to the community and the environment. Each winner contributes to a live-work-play environment and is designed to complement and enhance the greater community. Among the other winners chosen this year are the downtown San Diego revitalization initiative, re-development initiatives in Portland, Denver and Philadelphia and mixed-use buildings in Seattle and Atlanta.
 “It is quite an honor to be chosen as a finalist for this important industry awards program,” said Matt Sloan, President of The Daniel Island Company, the master developer of Daniel Island. “We were blessed with a wonderful opportunity to create a new small town within historic Charleston, and we have taken that responsibility very seriously. Essentially, we have laid the groundwork for a self-sustaining community that is evolving organically over time and that has the potential to move beyond the ranks of a planned community to become a great small town. It is a great honor to have our efforts recognized by our peers at ULI.”
Planning for Daniel Island began in the early 1990s when the region’s newly opened beltway (I-526) presented a unique suburban infill opportunity for the City of Charleston that would allow the City to grow without contributing to sprawl. At the time, Charleston Mayor Joseph P. Riley, Jr. referred to Daniel Island as his “Louisiana Purchase,” an opportunity to grow the City and address the limitations of its tax base by providing a new center of the region where much needed new destinations, places for business to grow and middle-class residential opportunities could be located without contributing to sprawl. 
“The goal for Daniel Island was to build a small town within the City of Charleston that is unique among new planned communities,” said Mayor Riley. “That dream has today become a reality. With schools and churches and municipal services and recreational opportunities available to all, Daniel Island truly has become what I believe to be a model for community building, and I am honored that the efforts of our city and The Daniel Island Company are being recognized by the Urban Land Institute.”

About the Urban Land Institute:
The Urban Land Institute (www.uli.org) is a nonprofit education and research institute supported by its members. Its mission is to provide leadership in the responsible use of land and in creating and sustaining thriving communities worldwide. Established in 1936, the Institute has more than 35,000 members representing all aspects of land use.  Throughout the Awards for Excellence program’s history all types of projects have been recognized for their excellence, including office, residential, recreational, urban/mixed-use, industrial/office park, commercial/retail, new community, rehabilitation and public projects and programs. A sampling of past winners of this prestigious honor include the town of Seaside, Florida; Sea Pines Plantation in Hilton Head; Kiawah Island, South Carolina; Rockefeller Center in New York; Copley Place in Boston; Reston, Virginia; and Union Station in Washington, D.C.

About Daniel Island:
Part of the City of Charleston, Daniel Island is a 4,000-acre island town that is centrally located within the region.  The island’s distinctive traditional neighborhoods feature a broad mix of home styles and prices. A growing collection of amenities include not only the essential components of a community – schools, medical centers, boutiques, restaurants, office buildings, churches and a modern supermarket – but also world-class golf, tennis and soccer facilities.  The island’s recreational opportunities include access to hundreds of acres of parks, 23 miles of rivers and creeks, docks and boat ramps, bicycle and jogging paths, and a private in-town country club.