Gainesville’s 2016 City Beautification Awards honored 26 local development projects and the individuals behind them who exhibited architectural and design excellence by creating innovative, aesthetically pleasing buildings while preserving the natural landscape of the city.

Local developer Trimark Properties was presented awards for its development of two newly-built Gainesville apartments, Solaria Luxury Apartments II and Tuscana Luxury Apartments, both completed in 2015. Their managing partner, John Fleming, was also bestowed an award for Outstanding Individual.

2016 was a busy year for the developer and property management firm, who received $22 million in refinancing for the two winning apartments, as well as another one of their luxury complexes built in 2014, Savion Park Luxury Apartments. The company also added 15,000-square-foot luxury office building Nimbus, located in Gainesville’s growing business district, Innovation Square, to its commercial real estate portfolio. Nimbus has already been nominated for a 2017 Beautification Award.

The ceremony, presented on Wednesday, April 27th, 2016, acknowledged the architects and engineers who have made a significant contribution to the community by developing artistically unique projects with a focus on sustainability. Award-winning architecture must feature appropriate land utilization, effective planning, and compatibility with the area, all the while maintaining a commitment to improving the livability of the city and its surrounding areas. These outstanding architectural projects are essential to the successful urbanization of Gainesville and have contributed to the overall prosperity and beauty of the rapidly developing college town.

With the 2017 Beautification Awards Ceremony quickly approaching on April 26th, city residents are reflecting on the growth Gainesville has experienced just this past year alone. As the city’s Community Redevelopment Agency, local private investors and the University of Florida continue to work individually and collaboratively to enhance the appeal of Gainesville’s building infrastructure, it is certain that the college town will witness significant, positive changes in its urban development over the next five years.