Congratulations to Our 2025 Community Innovation Award Winners!
On Saturday, September 27, the National Association of Housing and Redevelopment Officials (NAHRO) presented 187 Awards of Merit and 17 Awards of Excellence at the Community Innovation Awards reception. The awards ceremony took place at NAHRO’s 2025 National Conference and Exhibition in Phoenix, Arizona.
In a joint statement, NAHRO President George Guy and NAHRO CEO Mark Thiele said, “The affordable housing crisis is a national challenge, but every solution begins at the local level. This year’s winners represent agencies of every size and setting, including rural, urban, and suburban communities that range from small to large. What unites them is a shared purpose: creating opportunity, advancing community priorities, and serving with both imagination and compassion. Their programs demonstrate what leadership in action looks like, from redeveloped housing and health initiatives to workforce succession planning, AI integration, and educational programming that opens doors for the future.”
A full list of the 187 Awards of Merit-winning programs is available in the 2025 Awards of Merit Catalog, available now on NAHRO’s website.
This year’s Awards of Excellence winners are:
- Alaska Housing Finance Corporation for Unity in Community and for The Last Frontier Housing Initiative,
- Columbia Housing for the Growing up Gen Z Youth Program and for ROSS Initiatives – Heels, Ties and Pearls,
- Cuyahoga Metropolitan Housing Authority for Application Walkthrough Video,
- Greensboro Housing Authority for Summer Design Program,
- Housing Authority of East Baton Rouge Parish for Power Through Partnership at Cypress Pinchback and for Cypress River Lofts,
- Housing Authority of the City of Abilene for Homeownership Program (Homeownership 101 Educational Course),
- Housing Authority of the City of Austin for From Emancipation to Innovation: The Revival of Rosewood Courts,
- Housing Authority of the City of Laurel for Laurel/Jones Co Visitors Center,
- New Hope Housing, Inc. for New Hope Housing Savoy,
- Opportunity Home San Antonio for CommUNITY Signal: Bridging Residents, Management and Safety in Real Time; for Snowden Living; and for The Bristol at Sumerset,
- Washington County Development Agency for Bluestem Apartments Restore Rebuild, and
- West Warwick Housing Authority for Services and Supports at Home (SASH): Helping Residents Access Services and Supports to Age in Place
About NAHRO
NAHRO, which was established in 1933, is a membership organization of more than 26,000 housing and community development providers and professionals throughout the United States. NAHRO members create and manage affordable housing for low- and middle-income families, and support vibrant communities that enhance the quality of life for all. NAHRO members administer more than 3 million homes for more than 8 million people.
About the Community Innovation Awards Program
The NAHRO Community Innovation Awards Program (previously the NAHRO Award of Merit Program) gives national recognition to the achievement and innovation of NAHRO members; to provide additional opportunities to inform the public of best practices in housing and community development; and to create a resource bank of information on significant, innovative activities performed by housing and redevelopment agencies and community development departments. Since 1989, NAHRO has honored more than 6,000 programs.
The Awards of Merit applications are reviewed, evaluated and winners selected by regional juries. The Awards of Excellence are awarded to the best entries in each category from among the Award of Merit winners.