KANSAS CITY, MO (February 13, 2012) – Today, Dalmark Development Group, Make It Right and BNIM proudly announce that the Bancroft School Development has received a Social Economic Environmental Design (SEED) Competition Design Award. The Awards honor extraordinary design projects that are committed to high quality public interest design.

The Bancroft School Revitalization was one of six projects selected out of forty-five entries submitted from fourteen countries. The SEED Competition Design Awards are evaluated based on how to address the biggest social, economic and environmental challenges and are judged by a panel of professional designers, architects and educators.

The Bancroft School project has demonstrated a robust commitment to community dialogue and neighborhood process in the Historic Manheim Park Neighborhood. The project is currently in a conceptual design phase as it awaits approval of Low Income Housing tax credits that will make the ambitious plan a reality. Once funded, the project will provide an economic catalyst for the Troost corridor and Manheim Park Neighborhood through the revitalization of neighborhood infrastructure and housing, creation of a transit corridor to spur economic development and job creation, as well as community education and support programs.

“It is our hope that the Bancroft School Revitalization will create a national model for the transformation of a struggling neighborhood,” says Jim Nichols, President, Dalmark. “This neighborhood and team is engaged in realizing positive change, ownership of values and leadership that will achieve success in the long term.”

“These projects offer tangible evidence of how design is effectively playing a role in addressing the most critical issues around the globe, not just the environment but directly addressing the biggest social and economic challenges,” said Bryan Bell of Design Corps and founder of SEED. “Each project team carefully identified a community’s needs and priorities, then maximized the use of resources to strategically address these. In the winning projects, multiple issues were addressed by the design response so that positive impact was maximized.”

Dalmark Development Group is spearheading the redevelopment of the Bancroft School into 29 units of housing with an additional 21 new construction units built on the site, for a total of 50 units. Local Architecture firm BNIM is doing the architectural design, community planning and outreach. Make It Right has stepped forward to anchor redevelopment in Kansas City’s Historic Manheim Park Neighborhood as part of its mission to provide safe, green and affordable homes to poor communities. Founded by actor Brad Pitt, Make It Right builds sustainable, affordable homes in disadvantaged communities.

More information and images of the winning design projects can be viewed at: https://designcorps.org/sfi/winners/

The winning projects will be shown at the Structures for Inclusion conference at the University of Texas, Austin, Saturday and Sunday, March 24-25: https://designcorps.org/sfi-conference/

About Make It Right
Founded in 2007 by Brad Pitt, Make It Right is committed to making healthy and sustainable homes accessible and affordable for working families. Make It Right is currently building 150 green homes, designed by world-renowned architects, for families in New Orleans’ Lower 9th Ward, the neighborhood hardest hit by Hurricane Katrina. The U.S. Green Building Council named Make It Right’s initiative in New Orleans the “largest and greenest community of single-family homes in the world” (http://www.makeitrightnola.org).

About Dalmark Development Group
Dalmark Development Group was formed to develop innovative and high quality residential properties with both conventional and affordable housing financing. Their proven track record and diversified experience in successfully redeveloping troubled properties, as well as developing new conventional and Low Income Housing Tax Credit communities is the cornerstone of their commitment to quality multifamily housing. Dalmark Development Group’s experience and understanding of these diverse markets allows them to continue to grow in the ever-changing climate of today’s multifamily real estate market. They create financially sound communities with long-term results for residents and owners. To learn more about Dalmark, please visit www.dalmarkgroup.com.

About BNIM
With 42 years of experience, BNIM is one of the most important architectural firms working to redefine practice in the realm of green architecture today and they are the recipient of the 2011 AIA National Architecture Firm Award. As early pioneers in the arena of sustainable design, BNIM continues to shape the national and global agenda for responsible architecture and design excellence. Established in 1970, the firm has emerged nationally as a leading resource for established methodologies, innovative technologies and cutting-edge research in architecture, planning, landscape, education and workplace design. The firm has offices in Kansas City, Mo.; Des Moines, Iowa; Houston, Texas; San Diego, Calif.; and Los Angeles, Calif. For more information, call Maria Maffry at 816.783.1500 or visit www.bnim.com.

Media Contacts:

Tracie Nichols
Dalmark
816.861.4070 x 106
tracie [at] dalmarkgroup.com

Taylor Royle
Make It Right
202-258-3508
troyle [at] makeitrightnola.org

Erin Gehle
BNIM
816-783-1582
egehle [at] bnim.com