Awards

The Phoenix Awards were created in 1997 to recognize individuals and groups who are working together to solve the critical environmental problem of transforming old, contaminated areas into productive new uses. The awards honor individuals and groups that have implemented innovative, yet practical, programs that remediated environmentally- impacted sites, and stimulated economic development or created new community assets. The awards seek to showcase these successful solutions and publicize these premier redevelopment projects as models for other communities around the world.

MMG received the Phoenix Award in 2017 for Region 6 for exemplary Brownfield Restoration. This award was given for the redevelopment of the new City of New Orleans Juvenile Justice Center and Youth Study Center. Locating the Youth Study and Juvenile Justice Centers in a single, community-based, location helped secure both DOJ approval under the Federal Consent Decree and public acceptance. Small, community-based facilities have been found to be positive factors in helping juvenile offenders make behavioral changes and achieve more positive outcomes. While the site use has changed from public housing, it still involves a public purpose.  The evolution of the property from vacant, unused, derelict, and trash-strewn lot to the visually attractive new Juvenile Justice complex represents a dramatic aesthetic improvement for the surrounding neighborhood.