USGBC South Florida announced its 2020 leadership award winners on Feb. 4 at the 11th annual GalaVerde Awards celebration. These prestigious awards recognize local excellence in high-performance building design, environmental stewardship, community impact and volunteerism.

A total of 112 attendees joined us for the regional USGBC Florida awards program, which included two keynotes: Secretary Noah Valenstein, Head of the Florida Department of Environmental Protection and Florida’s Chief Resiliency Officer, who discussed state resiliency plans moving forward; and LEED Fellow and USGBC Faculty member Bahar Armaghani, sharing her amazing success with students and LEED Lab. The ceremony included a total of 19 awards and featured live music from Mila Fe, remarks from several winners and many virtual toasts.

2020 GalaVerde Leadership Award recipients

Marquee Green Building Legacy Award: 1450 Brickell
Project team | Project scorecard

This 588,000-square-foot, 35-story, Class A office tower in Miami achieved LEED Gold certification in 2008. It was one of first LEED buildings in Miami, becoming the motivation and meeting place where the USGBC South Florida community gathered a roundtable of developers and government officials to discuss green building in Miami. With Mayor Diaz’s support, this resulted in the Miami 21 ordinance establishing LEED criteria for future development across the diverse neighborhoods of Miami.

Innovative Project of the Year—Existing Building: 701 Brickell
Project team | Project scorecard

This 740,000-square-foot commercial office building was originally built in 1985. It achieved its first LEED for Operations and Maintenance certification in 2018 and reached Gold with its recertification, demonstrating ownership’s commitment to energy efficiency, building performance, comfort and the LEED process. The building has won multiple awards recognizing excellence in office building management.

Innovative Project of the Year—New Construction Core and Shell: Paradise Plaza in the Miami Design District
Project team | Project scorecard

This 150,000-square-foot project consists of two buildings connected by a plaza, which earned LEED Gold in Oct. 2020. Paradise Plaza contains shops and restaurants and is filled with the art and architecture of many internationally renowned artists and designers. The Miami Design District itself achieved a LEED for Neighborhood Development certification, with Paradise Plaza continuing and contributing to green construction in this vibrant Miami neighborhood.