Last May, the Grand Boulevard Initiative received the Distinguished Leadership Award of Excellence from the Northern California chapter of the American Planning Association (APA). The Initiative has now gone on to win the state-level award from the California chapter of APA! The State award will be announced at the APA California 2010 Conference. Congratulations to all Grand Boulevard member agencies and staff!

The City of San Mateo’s Hillsdale Station Area Plan held its second Community Workshop on June 30 at the San Mateo Senior Center.  About 43 community members, elected and appointed officials, stakeholders, and community based organization members attended the workshop that allowed small groups to form their own ideas and visions for the area.  This second of three workshops held in 2010 was primarily a hands-on interactive workshop with attendees working in small groups to determine their preferred alternative by ‘mixing and matching’ from two alternatives presented for review.

Read more: Vision for Hillsdale Station Area Plan Takes Form

The second biennial Grand Boulevard Initiative Awards program recognised seven planned and recently completed projects and public agency plans that exemplify the Guiding Principles.

This year's honorees are:

City of Daly City - 7555 Mission Street - Habitat for Humanity Condominum Project
City of Menlo Park - El Camino Real/Downtown Vision Plan
City of Mountain View - 1984 West El Camino Real - The Hanover Company Mixed-Use Development
City of San Bruno - Acappella Apartments and Grand Luxe Peninsula Condominiums at the Crossing
City of San Carlos - 2030 General Plan and Climate Action Plan
City of South San Francisco - Centennial Way Linear Park
City of South San Francisco - Park Station Lofts

Click here to view the winning projects and photos from the Grand Bouelvard Awards Ceremony.

Congratulations! The Grand Boulevard Initiative has been selected to receive the 2010 Distinguished Leadership: Organization Award. These awards are presented to "an organization whose efforts have contributed to elevating planning principles, creating greater awareness of the value of planning, and improving the quality of life in one or more communities."