Community Improvement Awards

Nominations for the 2023 Community Improvement Awards are open. You can submit your nominations by clicking this link.

Recognizing outstanding recent architecture, design, and construction in Houston Heights, both new and renovated.

Perhaps one of the easiest ways to participate in preserving and celebrating Houston Heights architectural heritage is to submit nominations for the 2023 Community Improvement Awards. These awards recognize recent construction or renovation in the neighborhood (both residential and commercial) that, true to the name of the award, we all feel improves upon the historic yet ever changing look and feel of our community’s landscape. The awards are judged by a panel of local experts, but for now, Chair Brit Vora is simply seeking your input through our open nomination process.

Heights Waterworks, winner of the 2019 Community Improvement Award for Commercial New Construction

The criteria are quite straightforward. We are seeking nominations of residences and businesses either built or renovated in the last three years (2021-2023) that may have caught your eye as uniquely contributing to the neighborhood. Our guiding question has always been, “Which building have you seen that you feel makes the Houston Heights an even better place than it was before?” Read the full eligibility criteria below, and please keep an eye out as you drive, walk, jog, and cycle through the neighborhood over the coming weeks.

The four categories are:

  • Commercial New Construction
  • Commercial Renovation
  • Residential New Construction
  • Residential Renovation

Feel free to email awards@houstonheights.org with any questions.

1226 Cortlandt, winner of the 2019 Community Improvement Award for Residential Renovation

Eligibility Criteria

Here is the area eligible to be nominated for Community Improvement Awards:

The eligible area is bounded by North Loop 610 on the north, North Durham Drive on the west, Washington Avenue on the south, Studewood on the east, and North Main on the northeast.

Eligibility and Judging Criteria for Residential Restoration or Renovation

  1. Any residential restoration or renovation project completed within the past three years (2021-2023) and located in the area shown on the map is eligible. (The area is defined in the by-laws of the Houston Heights Association.)
  2. The project must have received a City of Houston building permit, except where one was not required (such as in the case of cosmetic repairs).
  3. Entries will be judged on built features sympathetic to the character of the neighborhood. These include such features as building scale, massing, proportions, setbacks, landscaping, and architectural elements.

Eligibility and Judging Criteria for Commercial Restoration or Renovation

  1. Any commercial restoration or renovation project completed within the past three years (2021-2023) and located in the area shown on the map is eligible. (The area is defined in the by-laws of the Houston Heights Association.)
  2. The project must have received a City of Houston building permit, except where one was not required (such as in the case of cosmetic repairs). It must also bear a City of Houston certificate of occupancy.
  3. Entries will be judged on their visual, environmental, and/or economic contributions to the community.

Eligibility and Judging Criteria for New Construction, Residential or Commercial

  1. Any new residential or commercial construction project completed within the past three years (2021-2023) and located in the area shown on the map is eligible. (The area is defined in the by-laws of the Houston Heights Association.)
  2. The project must have received a City of Houston building permit. Commercial projects must also bear a City of Houston certificate of occupancy.
  3. Entries will be judged on built features sympathetic to the character of the neighborhood. These include such features as building scale, massing, proportions, setbacks, landscaping, and architectural features. Commercial entries will be judged on their visual, environmental, and/or economic contributions to the community.