SSOE Group’s Avondale Estates Town Green and the Steele Bridge Project at The Lofts at Centennial Yards Win Urban Land Institute Atlanta Awards of Excellence
ATLANTA, Georgia, October 25, 2023 – SSOE Group (www.ssoe.com), an internationally ranked architecture and engineering firm, is proud to announce that two of its projects have recently received Urban Land Institute (ULI) Atlanta Awards of Excellence. ULI Atlanta held its 27th Awards of Excellence program in September, recognizing 17 new developments and initiatives across Georgia. The program recognizes outstanding real estate development projects or initiatives that exemplify ULI’s mission to shape the future of cities for transformative impact worldwide. Among those project winners included SSOE’s Avondale Estates Town Green and the Steele Bridge at The Lofts at Centennial Yards.
Avondale Estates Town Green was awarded the Development of Excellence in Public Realm. The Town Green was designed and constructed by a developer-led team with public input and opened to the community in June 2022. SSOE provided architecture, planning, and engineering for this project. The park is designed for multiple generations and includes walking paths, a playground, a performance and event pavilion, a pavilion for farmers’ markets, dedicated places for artists, and gardens for native plants. The Town Green has provided the city and the surrounding communities with a much-needed gathering space for years to come. View the award video here.
The Steele Bridge project at The Lofts at Centennial Yards was awarded the Development of Excellence in Adaptive Reuse. SSOE was the architect on the Steele Bridge and provided master planning and bridge design services through construction and closeout with New South Construction. The development entailed the complete rehabilitation and adaptive reuse of the historic Southern Railway freight depot and office building. Originally constructed in 1912 and expanded in 1928, the 274,000 SF complex is the largest remaining element of Atlanta’s storied railroad past. The project consists of two buildings linked by a ‘Sky Bridge.’ The main entrance and lobby have been retained and restored, bringing back pieces of Atlanta history. The bridge offers a vital pedestrian connection to Castleberry Hill and Downtown Atlanta. This piece of the project involved tearing down the existing bridge and rebuilding it with pedestrian traffic and small community events in mind. View the award video here.
Todd Dolson, AIA, Vice President, and Director of Design for the firm’s Building Design Group, commented on the awards stating, “ULI Atlanta is one of the largest and most active District Councils of the Urban Land Institute (ULI) in the United States and these recognitions do not come easy. Both projects were supported by great multi-disciplinary teams along with a host of consultants. These are well-deserved awards and I couldn’t be more proud of how these teams are changing the landscape of Atlanta and the surrounding communities and living out SSOE’s vision of designing and building the future for our clients, colleagues, and communities.”
To learn more about the ULI Atlanta 27th Awards of Excellence program, click here.
About ULI Atlanta
ULI Atlanta is a District Council of the Urban Land Institute (ULI). As the preeminent, multidisciplinary real estate forum, ULI is a nonprofit education and research group supported by its diverse, expert membership base. Its mission is to “Shape the future of the built environment for transformative impact in communities worldwide.” ULI Atlanta has over 1,400 members throughout the Atlanta region and its broader geography which includes the entire state of Georgia and eastern Tennessee. ULI Atlanta is one of the largest and most active District Councils in the United States.