Falls Park Named Finalist For 2015 Rudy Bruner Award For Urban Excellence

GREENVILLE SC – The Bruner Foundation Inc., sponsor of the Rudy Bruner Award for Urban Excellence (RBA), has announced Falls Park on the Reedy as one of five finalists for its 2015 award. Falls Park was selected from 55 entries from across the continental United States by a nationwide committee of urban experts. Next month, Bruner Foundation staff will begin site visits to each finalist in preparation for the committee’s selection of the medal winners in June. Medalists will receive cash awards to support their projects. One Gold Medal recipient will receive $50,000, and four Silver Medal recipients will receive $10,000 each. The other 2015 RBA finalists include:

•  Grand Rapids Downtown Market – Grand Rapids, MI
  • A new downtown public space promoting local food producers and community events, entrepreneurship, and education about nutrition and healthy lifestyles.
• Miller’s Court – Baltimore, MD
  • The redevelopment of a vacant manufacturing building into an affordable and supportive living and working environment for public school teachers and education-focused nonprofits.
• Quixote Village – Olympia, WA
  • A two-acre community of 30 tiny houses and a common building that provides permanent, supportive housing for chronically homeless adults.
• Uptown District – Cleveland, OH
  • The redevelopment of a corridor linking art and educational institutions with neighborhoods and the downtown, creating new community and retail space, student housing, and transit connections.

“From the dramatic transformation needed to reclaim Reedy River Falls, to its postcard setting equally adored by residents and visitors, Falls Park on the Reedy exemplifies the award’s standards,” said Dana Souza, Parks & Recreation Department Director. “This is a distinct honor for Greenville and a wonderful opportunity to nationally showcase one of our greatest assets—Falls Park—alongside our vibrant community.”

Founded in 1987, the award seeks to identify transformative urban places in America and to celebrate their impact on the economic, social and physical fabric of its cities. Pike Place Market in Seattle was the first RBA Gold Medalist, and 73 places in 25 states have been recognized as medalists since. For more information about the award, contact Anne-Marie Lubenau, Director, Rudy Bruner Award for Urban Excellence, at(617) 492-8404, or Debra Pickrel with Pickrel Communications at (212) 753-3140 or [email protected].