Voting for 2024 DID Greening and Public Realm Awards Opens Today, September 5
Thursday, September 5, 2024 at 11:30AM
The Mpls Downtown Improvement District (DID) has announced public voting for the 2024 Greening and Public Realm Awards is officially open!
The Greening and Public Realm Awards, a DID initiative since 2010, celebrates outstanding examples of greening and placemaking that improve public spaces in downtown Minneapolis. Winners will be selected by public vote. The public vote will be open September 5 through September 20.
Finalists were divided into eight categories based on project size and other characteristics. Among the finalists selected were 20 new nominees – a sign of continued growth in downtown greening efforts – as well as several past winners.
“Efforts to enhance our public greening are invaluable, as they elevate our urban spaces and improve the quality of life for everyone who lives, works and plays in downtown ,” said Adam Duininck, Mpls Downtown Improvement District President & CEO. “Our downtown community is grateful to all the finalists and their efforts to improve vibrancy and greening in the city’s core.”
Winners will receive a commemorative Greening and Public Realm 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 Greening and Public Realm Awards were created to celebrate the outstanding examples of private and public greening and placemaking happening in downtown Minneapolis and are intended to inspire all to work towards making downtown a greener and more vibrant place.
The public is encouraged to vote by visiting mplsdid.com/greeningawards and using 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 eight categories include the following finalists
- Activated Space: The Commons, North Loop Green, Peavey Plaza, Government Center South Plaza
- Façade: Café Bar & Lurcat, Gluek’s Bar and Restaurant, Strive Bookstore, Lenox Brownstones
- Large Green Space: Loring Greenway, Mpls Convention Center Plaza, Gold Medal Park, Water Works Park
- Small Green Space: Minneapolis College, Federal Reserve, Triangle Park, WCCO Plaza
- Best Adopt a Rain Garden: 4th Street Oasis, St. Olaf Boulevard Gardens, Skip & Michelle’s Rain Garden, 8th St. & Portland Community Garden
- Sustainable Greening: 8th St. Stormwater Planters, 4th St. Rain Gardens, Mpls Convention Center Plaza, Westminster Presbyterian
- Public Realm Improvement: North Loop Green, Renovated 3rd Avenue Bridge, Reopened Cedar Lake Light Rail Trail, Elliot Park Tree Canopy Project, 2nd Street Protected Bikeway
- Outdoor Café/Patio: The Local, EaTo, Red Cow, The Monte Carlo
The public is not only encouraged to vote for a winner in each category, but also to celebrate downtown greening year-long. Send your greening photos to @MplsDID on Facebook and/or Instagram using the hashtag #GreenAwardsMpls.
