NORRISTOWN, PA — The 56th annual Montgomery Awards recently celebrated five outstanding projects and their creators and a dedicated lifelong advocate of open space preservation at a ceremony held at the Schultz Community Center of Meadowood Senior Living.
The coveted awards for 2023 went to the Park to Perkiomen Trail Connector in Upper Salford Township, PV Woods – Lenape Arboretum & Muhlenberg Woods in Perkiomen Township and Lower Frederick Township, SORA West in Conshohocken Borough, The Reserve at Maybrook in Lower Merion Township, and the Jacob Reiff Park Stream & Floodplain Restoration in Lower Salford Township. The latter received the 2023 Environmental Stewardship Award.
In addition to these remarkable projects, Philip A. Smith, a lifelong advocate of open spaces, trails, and historic preservation, was honored with a 2023 Planning Advocate Award.
The Park to Perkiomen Trail Connector, an integral part of the township’s multiuse pathway network, was lauded for its sustained vision for open space and natural resource preservation, site-sensitive trail design and construction, and collaboration with community and agency partnerships. This project successfully connected a popular township park with a recreational destination and the Perkiomen Trail, while preserving 42 acres of high conservation value woodlands.
PV Woods, which includes the Lenape Arboretum and Muhlenberg Woods, was recognized for its initiatives in outdoor environmental education, conservation and stewardship of open space, and fostering cultural heritage and community connections.
SORA West, an ambitious mixed-use development, was commended for its context-sensitive site design, adaptive reuse, and positive community impact. The project includes a state-of-the-art LEED Silver certified global headquarters office building, a new hotel, public square with community gathering space, streetscape improvements, and the restoration and creative reuse of a historic firehouse.
The Reserve at Maybrook received acclamation for its zoning innovation and planning process, historic preservation, and site-sensitive design. This successful infill transit-oriented mixed-use development resulted in the preservation of an historic mansion and other valuable historic resources set within over 20 acres of protected open space.
The Jacob Reiff Park Stream & Floodplain Restoration project was singled out for its extensive stream and floodplain restoration efforts along the west branch of Skippack Creek. The project has resulted in a healthier ecosystem, improved flood attenuation and stormwater management in the floodplain corridor, and a unique natural destination for the community to enjoy.
Philip A. Smith, an advocate for open space, trails, and historic preservation, was celebrated for his lifelong dedication to open space preservation through civil leadership and personal generosity. His holistic approach to project planning, commitment to his community, exceptional collaboration skills, and extreme perseverance have advanced open space, historic preservation, and trail development in western Montgomery County.
Visit the official Montgomery County website for more on the 2023 winners.
For the latest news on everything happening in Chester County and the surrounding area, be sure to follow MyChesCo on Google News and Microsoft Start.