Annual Earth Advantage Multifamily Awards Celebrate Achievement in High-Performance, Climate-Friendly Design and Construction

December 5, 2025

Earth Advantage is proud to announce the recipients of the 2025 Earth Advantage Multifamily Awards, celebrating people and projects advancing high-performance, climate-responsive, and community-centered residential development. The awards recognize leadership in innovative design, social impact, sustainability, and long-term commitment to quality in the built environment.

Thirteen projects  were nominated this year, including a mix of market rate and affordable buildings. The nominated projects represent teams that navigated real constraints, balanced competing priorities, and still delivered homes that are efficient, resilient, and rooted in community. Each of these teams have demonstrated what it means to choose quality construction, even when doing so is not the easiest path. Their dedication creates housing that delivers long-term value, healthier living environments, and strong performance for the communities that need these benefits most.

Project Winners
Five projects were recognized in the following categories:
 
  • Innovative Design 

    Recipient: Altura Apartments (BRIDGE Housing, Otak, Salazar Architect, and Colas Construction)
    This award recognizes projects that introduce creative or unconventional strategies in design, materials, and building systems to strengthen performance or enhance the resident experience. Altura Apartments demonstrated how forward-thinking approaches in areas such as envelope design, advanced mechanical systems, renewable integration, and distinctive design methodologies can significantly elevate multifamily building performance.

  • Community Engaged Design

    Recipient: The Dr. Darrell Millner Building (Community Development Partners, Self Improvement, Inc., Urban Resources, Inc., Carleton Hart Architecture, PC, and LMC Construction)

    This award honors a project that worked closely with its local community to inform and shape the development. The Dr. Darrell Millner Building demonstrated a strong commitment to equity, accessibility, and authentic participation. Future residents and neighbors played an active role in the design and development process, resulting in shared benefits and a deeper connection to the surrounding community.

  • Market Rate Project of the Year

    Recipient: The Steward (DIG Real Estate, LEEB Architects, and LMC Construction)
    This award highlights a high-performing market-rate residential project that demonstrated leadership in innovation and sustainability, as well as meaningful contributions to the broader industry. The Steward  established a benchmark for design excellence, occupant comfort, and measurable environmental performance, illustrating how market-rate development can drive progress across the sector.

  • Affordable Project of the Year

    Recipient: Francis + Clare Place (Catholic Charities of Oregon, Edlen & Co., Holst Architecture, and O’Neill/Walsh Community Builders)
    This category recognizes an outstanding affordable housing development that delivered environmental performance, resident well-being, and community impact without compromising long-term affordability. Francis + Clare Place showed that affordability and high performance can reinforce one another. The project offers a compelling example of what is possible when housing is designed to be sustainable, resilient, and dignified for all residents.

  • Catalyst for Change

    Recipient: Meridian Gardens (Central City Concern, GLI Advisors, Ankrom Moisan Architects, and Walsh Construction)
    This award recognizes a project that did more than meet its own performance goals and helped shift the industry’s understanding of what is possible. Meridian Gardens served as a model for transformation, showing how bold strategies, rigorous performance targets, and cross-disciplinary collaboration can redefine sustainability expectations for the multifamily sector and inspire similar work across the market.


To be eligible for an award, projects must have received an Earth Advantage Multifamily certification between July 1, 2024 and June 30, 2025. Recipients were chosen by an independent judging panel that evaluated each project in terms of quality, efficiency, and community value. This year’s judges were:
 
  • Rita Haberman, Built Environment Specialist, Materials Management, Oregon DEQ
  • Andrew Shepard, Residential Sector Program Manager, EPS Homes, Energy Trust of Oregon
  • Masaye Hoside, Sr. Housing Construction Coordinator, Portland Housing Bureau 

Firm and Individual Winners
In addition to highlighting project excellence, each year the Earth Advantage Multifamily Awards recognize firms and individuals who have made significant contributions supporting quality, high-performance construction in the region. These awards include:
 
  • Most Certified Units

    Recipient: Security Properties

    This recognition is awarded to the firm whose number of certified units in 2025 reflects a strong and consistent commitment to quality, even during a shifting development landscape. Security Properties’ ongoing dedication to certification demonstrates that scaling high-performance buildings is not only achievable, but vital to meeting environmental and housing goals.
     

  • Construction Manager of the Year

    Recipient: Liz Stewart, Walsh Construction
    This award honors an individual who has earned trust through steady leadership, consistent execution, and a deep commitment to quality. Liz Stewart demonstrated exceptional skill in coordinating teams, maintaining high-performance construction standards, and delivering projects that meet or exceed today’s rigorous green certification requirements.

  • Lifetime Achievement

    Recipient: John Spillman
    The Lifetime Achievement Award recognizes an individual whose career has significantly shaped the quality, integrity, and evolution of sustainable construction. During his tenure with Earth Advantage, John Spillman influenced both projects and people by mentoring professionals, advancing best practices, and elevating expectations for sustainable, healthy, and high-performing multifamily housing. His legacy is reflected in the buildings he helped bring to life and in the practitioners who continue this important work.


This year’s awards were made possible by support from the Portland Clean Energy Community Benefits Fund (PCEF), Energy Trust of Oregon, and Gallagher