Vote For Your Favorite Green Spaces To Win 2015 MDID Greening & Public Realm Awards

MINNEAPOLIS (August 10, 2015) — Help your favorite green spaces in Downtown Minneapolis get recognized through the 6th Annual Minneapolis Downtown Improvement District (MDID) Greening & Public Realm Awards.

The Greening Awards, an MDID initiative since 2010, celebrate outstanding examples of greening and placemaking that improve public space in Downtown Minneapolis. Winners are selected by public vote at MinneapolisDID.com/GreeningAwards. The vote will be open Aug. 10 through Aug. 24.
 
This year, 35 unique finalists selected through an interactive public nomination process were divided into 12 categories based on the project’s characteristics and size. Among the finalists selected were 17 new nominees—a sign of the growing diversity of greening in the downtown area—as well as nine past winners. Eight of last year’s 11 winners are nominated again this year, including five-time winners Loring Greenway and Target Plaza South Entry.

“Greening in the public realm is essential to creating a vibrant and thriving downtown. We as a community have put a great emphasis on sustaining and building upon our green spaces in downtown Minneapolis,” said Steve Cramer, President & CEO of the Minneapolis Downtown Council and Downtown Improvement District. “The Greening Awards help us celebrate these continued efforts, and we hope residents, employees and visitors alike will vote to help give acknowledgement to these deserving spaces—large and small.”

This year’s vote also includes a new category that focuses on downtown neighborhoods. Greening is an important aspect of every community, and this year’s Greening Awards will acknowledge the area of downtown that has produced the best greening according to the public.

Winners will receive a commemorative Greening Award created by Wood from the Hood, a Minneapolis-based company that reclaims discarded trees from urban neighborhoods and creates high-quality wood products. Each award will display the year the award was issued.

The MDID Greening Awards are intended to inspire all to work toward making downtown greener and more vibrant. The MDID’s mission through the Greening Awards is to encourage all downtown businesses and organizations to participate in the greening effort.

The public is encouraged to vote by visiting  www.MinneapolisDID.com/GreeningAwards and clicking on the interactive vote link. Each category will showcase the finalists along with a photo of each location for easy viewing and identification. This year’s 12 categories include the following finalists:

Small Green Space Activation
·        IDS Center PARKLOT presented by Bank of America*
·        Piazza on the Mall

Small Green Space
·        Assisi on 9th Park
·        Target Plaza South Entry

Large Green Space Activation
·        Convention Center Plaza
·        Government Plaza
·        Peavey Plaza
·        Target Field Station

Large Green Space
·        Elliot Park*
·        Loring Greenway
·        Loring Park*
·        Triangle Park

Façade Greening
·        500 S. Washington*
·        5th Street Towers
·        Kenosha Building
·        Seven Event Destination

Open Space Green Infrastructure
·        MCTC Plaza Rain Garden
·        Target Field Station

Outdoor Café
·        8th Street Grill
·        Dakota Jazz Club
·        Red Cow*

Streetscape Greening
·        222 Hennepin
·        Central Lutheran Church*
·        The Foundry Home Goods*

Streetscape Green Infrastructure
·        5th Avenue Lofts/Security Warehouse*
·        American Academy of Neurology
·        RiverStation Condos*
·        Spoon & Stable*

Entryway Greening
·        Aloft Minneapolis
·        Cynthia Froid Group*
·        Goldberg Bail Bonds*
·        Martin Patrick 3*

Public Realm Improvement
·        5th Avenue Lofts/Security Warehouse Lofts*
·        Central Lutheran Church*
·        Convention Center Plaza
·        IDS Center PARKLOT presented by Bank of America*
·        Soccer Field at Elliot Park*
·        Spoon & Stable*
·        The Foundry Home Goods*

Best Neighborhood
·        Elliot Park*
·        Loring Park*
·        Mill District*
·        North Loop*

*-New Nominee in this category

The public is encouraged to not only vote on a winner for each category but to also celebrate greening on social media year-round. Send your greening photos to @MinneapolisDID on Facebook, Twitter and  Instagram using the hashtag #GreenAwardsMpls.
 
For more information, visit www.minneapolisdid.com/greeningawards or log onto  Facebook, Twitter or  Instagram searching @MinneapolisDID.

About the Minneapolis Downtown Council:
Founded in 1955, and one of the oldest central business districts in the nation, the Minneapolis Downtown Council (MDC) is a membership-based entity that works to create, preserve, and enhance a vital and engaging experience for the people who visit, work, shop and live in Downtown Minneapolis. The MDC’s collaborative developments of Intersections: The Downtown 2025 Plan was designed to help downtown businesses, community leaders and citizens build on downtown assets and implement future goals. For more information, please visit http://www.downtownmpls.com/.

About the Downtown Improvement District:
Founded in early 2009, after more than five years of formative planning and advocacy by the downtown business community, the Minneapolis DID delivers higher levels of service to make downtown cleaner, greener, safer and more vibrant throughout a 120-block area, as is the case with most Business Improvement Districts. For more information, visit http://www.minneapolisdid.com/.