• Historic Main Street reclaims identity

    An against-the-odds comeback, launched in the Great Recession, has brought life to a waning Main Street while enhancing the historic character of Senoia, Georgia. The project won a 2020 CNU Charter Award for Historical Concepts.
    A Main Street revival in Senoia, Georgia, is an inspiring example of what is possible even during a down economy. Fifteen years ago, the town’s center was near dormant, with only eight operating businesses. A proposal to build a strip mall with a “dollar store” on the historic Main Street spurred a...Read more

  • Creativity + innovation as a pandemic response

    Across human history, crisis has always presented opportunities for innovation and will always be fertile ground for those fearless enough to look past the obvious obstacles at hand.
    We are experiencing a truly unique time in human history that we perhaps haven’t seen since the end of World War II. A global phenomenon that nearly the entire planet is dealing with simultaneously. Like the shared experience of war or other forms of crisis that brings out the best in people, we...Read more

  • Small industrial city diversifies with new urban district

    The River District Implementation Plan is building a new walkable neighborhood across from downtown Elkhart, Indiana. Speck & Associates and Stantec’s Urban Places won a merit award in CNU's 2020 Charter Awards.
    An underutilized peninsula across the river from downtown is giving Elkhart, Indiana, an opportunity to diversify its economy. The city is a center of RV manufacturing—an important jobs base that is nevertheless vulnerable to shifting markets and demands. The city was set to begin revitalizing the...Read more

  • Neighborhood library elevates civic space

    The Cleveland Park Library serves as an inviting beacon of culture for a neighborhood in Washington, DC. The building won a merit award for Perkins Eastman DC in the Block, Street, and Building category of the 2020 CNU Charter Awards.
    The Cleveland Park Library is a “civic beacon” at the southern end of Cleveland Park’s main street on Connecticut Avenue in Washington, DC. The building, completed in 2018, is contemporary in design, yet it has a timeless quality. It replaces a 1953 facility that had outlived its usefulness. The...Read more