Tampa, FL – (October 28, 2025) – The Hillsborough County City-County Planning Commission is proud to announce the winners of the 43rd Annual Planning & Design Awards presented by TECO. The celebration of excellence in planning and design was held on Thursday, October 23, 2025, at the Shanna & Bryan Glazer Jewish Community Center. Award winners were selected by a panel of distinguished judges from outside of Hillsborough County. There were four Awards of Merit, four Awards of Excellence, seven Awards of Outstanding Contribution to the Community, and one Jan Abell Award of Outstanding Contribution in the Historic Preservation category. In addition, three awards of special recognition were presented, the Hillsborough River Stewardship Award, the Chairman’s Award and the Executive Director’s Award. This year’s USF Master of Urban and Regional Planning (MURP) Scholarship recipient is Steven Eyster, a graduate planning student of merit who was presented with the scholarship at the event.

This awards program honors projects contributing to a better quality of life in our community and serving as models to learn from and emulate. With an emphasis on the importance of great planning within our region, the awards program is held in October to align with the American Planning Association’s (APA) National Community Planning Month.

Photographs of the event can be viewed in an album on the Planning Commission’s Flickr account.

Thank you to our awards host, Roxanne Wilder. Also, thank you to this year’s panel of judges, Allison Megrath, AICP, CNU-A, Lara Bouck, AICP, PE and Dennis Smith, AICP.



Many thank to this year's incredible sponsors for your support. This year’s sponsors were: TECO, Tampa Bay Times, Mark Bentley, ESQ., B.C.S., AICP, Suncoast Tampa Association of Realtors, Tampa Hillsborough Expressway Authority, HDR and EXP.

• EPC Annual Clean Air Fair
• World Car-Free Day
• Access 2050 Public Engagement Plan
• Northeast Plant City Master Plan Update

• Riverside Park Design & Engineering
• Kid Mason Community Center Renovations
• Bethune Park Master Plan
• Plant City Utilities Public Outreach Video Campaign

• Tampa Union Station Improvements
• Tampa International Airport - Master Plan Phase Two
• Plant City Police Department - Community Engagement Program
• Newman Branch Creek Living Shoreline/Tidal Creek Restoration Project
• Curiosity Creek
• Selmon Greenway Master Plan 
• The Skills Center

Hillsborough River Stewardship Award: Friends of the River

Chairman’s Award: Storm Hardening of Hooker's Point Electrical System

Executive Director’s Award: Embarc Collective

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Plan Hillsborough: Erika Flores, Strategic Communications Manager

florese@plancom.org | Direct: 813-582-7359

Hillsborough County City-County Planning Commission: Brynn Dauphinais, Community Relations Coordinator

dauphinaisb@plancom.org | Direct: 813.386.5981

Hillsborough TPO: Harmoni McGee, Community Relations Coordinator

mcgeeh@plancom.org | Direct: 813.582.7368

Website: PlanHillsborough.org