Groundbreakers Awards
We're proud to introduce the Groundbreakers Awards! These awards celebrate those whose work extends beyond individual accomplishments to create stronger neighborhoods, expand opportunity, inspire innovation, and leave a lasting legacy for future generations.
Award recipients will be recognized during the Groundbreakers Awards Ceremony, one of the signature events of Groundbreakers Conference. The Awards Ceremony is included with every conference registration, ensuring every attendee has the opportunity to celebrate the remarkable leaders and organizations shaping the future of the built environment.
Be there as we recognize the inaugural Groundbreakers Class of 2026 and establish what we believe will become one of the industry's most respected honors.
Nominations are now open.
Submit your nomination today!
Award Categories
Transformative Development Award
Eligibility Requirements
Individual or organization
Work must have significant regional, statewide, national, or industry-wide impact
Demonstrated innovation in the built environment
Awarded to an individual or organization whose sustained body of work has made a lasting contribution to the built environment over time. This honor recognizes decades of leadership, innovation, and excellence that have strengthened communities, advanced the profession, and inspired future generations.
Awarded to an individual, organization, or initiative whose work has created meaningful and measurable improvements in the lives of people and neighborhoods. This honor recognizes community-centered leadership, authentic engagement, and a commitment to creating places where people and communities can thrive.
Legacy of Excellence Award
Community Leadership Award
Awarded to an individual or organization whose work has fundamentally reshaped the built environment in a way that drives economic, social, or cultural transformation. This honor recognizes visionary leadership, bold execution, and impact.
Groundbreakers Impact Award
Emerging Leader
Award
Outstanding Local Initiative Award
Awarded to a nonprofit organization whose mission-driven work has created lasting positive change through leadership, innovation, and service. This honor recognizes organizations that address community challenges, expand opportunity, and improve quality of life through sustained impact and meaningful partnerships.
Awarded to an early-career professional who has demonstrated exceptional leadership, innovation, and a commitment to advancing the built environment. This honor recognizes individuals whose accomplishments, character, and potential position them to become the next generation of industry leaders.
Awarded to an outstanding local project, partnership, or initiative that has transformed a place through innovation, collaboration, and thoughtful investment. This honor recognizes projects that demonstrate how strategic development and cross-sector partnerships can strengthen communities and serve as models for others.
Eligibility Requirements
Individual or organization
Demonstrated sustained excellence over a significant period of time
Significant contributions across multiple projects or initiatives
Recognized influence within the profession or community
Lasting impact that extends beyond a single project or initiative
Eligibility Requirements
Individual, organization, or project
Demonstrated:
community engagement
neighborhood transformation
and resident-centered decision making
Eligibility Requirements
Non-profit
Mission substantially related to housing, land, community development, economic mobility, preservation, environmental justice, neighborhood revitalization, or similar work
Minimum three years in operation
Demonstrated measurable outcomes
Eligibility Requirements
Individual
Within the first 10 years of leadership in their profession
Demonstrated professional excellence and exceptional promise
Eligibility Requirements
Individual, organization, project, municipality
Initiative located in the Charlotte metropolitan area
Completed or reached a significant milestone within the past five years
Demonstrated community benefits
Whose body of work has left the built environment/ profession better than they found it?
Who has fundamentally shifted the conversation about what is possible in the built environment?
Whose work has most meaningfully improved lives?
Which organization has created the greatest public good through mission-driven leadership?
Who is most likely to shape the future of the built environment?
Which initiative has most successfully transformed the city/region through innovation, collaboration, and community benefit—and has the greatest potential to inspire similar work elsewhere?