2014

Meea Kang, Domus Development, LLC

LOCUS is proud to recognize Meea Kang, president and co-founder of Domus Development, LLC, as the 2014 LOCUS Leadership Award Recipient. Since its founding, Domus Development has become the go-to company for local communities in California to find solutions to problems no other developer could solve. In addition to Meea Kang’s strong commitment to responsible development practices, she has become a leading advocate in public policy as a founding board member and past president of the California Infill Builders Federation, a not-for-profit organization working to control sprawl by promoting infill development. Kang is also known nationally as a leader and advocate for forming innovative partnerships to advocate for policies that promote high-quality transit-oriented, mixed-use, and mixed-income housing in communities across California.

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2013
Senator Mary Landrieu (D-LA); Pres Kabacoff, HRI Properties

the 2013 Leadership Award was presented to Louisiana Senator Mary Landrieu and Pres Kabacoff, CEO of New Orleans-based developer HRI Properties, for their work to promote smart, sustainable development in Louisiana and across the country. During her time in Congress, Senator Landrieu has been a steadfast supporter of smart growth. In particular, she has been a champion of the Partnership for Sustainable Communities, an innovative collaboration between the Environmental Protection Agency, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the U.S. Department of Transportation to help improve access to affordable housing, create more transportation options and lower Americans’ transportation costs while protecting the environment in communities nationwide. Senator Landrieu has supported smart growth policy, and HRI Properties’ CEO and LOCUS Steering Committee member Pres Kabacoff has helped build it. HRI Properties is a full-service real estate company based in New Orleans and a national leader in the adaptive reuse of historic structures. HRI’s projects, such as the 225 Baronne building in downtown New Orleans, have helped bring new life and activity to many communities and embody the principles promoted by the Partnership for Sustainable Communities and Smart Growth America.

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2012
Forest City Enterprises; Senator Michael Bennet (D-CO); Senator Mark Warner (D-VA)

“It is with great pleasure that we honor Senator Michael Bennet and Senator Mark Warner with the first annual LOCUS Leadership Award,” said LOCUS President Chris Leinberger. Senator Bennet (D-CO) and Senator Warner (D-VA) have proposed changes to the transportation bill that would create a credit enhancement for transit-oriented development (TOD) projects, an essential component of walkable communities. Bennet and Warner’s proposal would reduce obstacles to TOD construction by amending the Federal Highway Administration’s highly successful Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (TIFIA) program, which provides federal credit assistance to finance surface transportation projects of national and regional significance. By making TOD projects eligible for TIFIA loans, real estate developers will be able to jumpstart projects and make the kinds of transportation investments they need to make today to get exciting projects up and running.