The Fulton Neighborhood Association is proud to announce the 2009 BLEND
Award has been expanded to include Armatage and several other neighborhoods.

The participating Neighborhood Associations are issuing a call
for submissions for the third annual BLEND AWARD, which recognizing

builders, architects and designers whose projects respect existing neighborhood
design aesthetics. The submission deadline is Friday, July 31st, 2009 5:00
p.m. Eligible projects include new buildings and remodels, renovation or
additions to existing buildings, and landscape projects that have been
completed since July 1, 2004; projects must be located within the boundaries of
the participating southwest neighborhoods. A jury of design professionals and
neighborhood residents will select projects to be awarded. An award ceremony
and media release is scheduled to correspond with the Fulton Neighborhood
Association meeting held on September 9th, 2009 at Pershing Park Recreation
Center, 3523 W. 48th St., Minneapolis, MN. 55410.

BLEND stands for Buildings and Landscapes Enhancing the Neighborhood
through Design. “The name and the award represent the residents’ recognition
of interest in their neighborhood and encouragement of progress while
balancing a need for compatibility with existing residences,” said Phil Rader,
AIA, an architect on the Fulton Neighborhood Association’s zoning committee.
“We really wanted a name that the residents could identify with. ‘Blend’ is a
word we hear often as residents talk about how they would like new
construction to fit into their neighborhood.” The award reinforces the design
guidelines written by FNA’s zoning committee. The guidelines encourage design
features of the neighborhood that make it unique without limiting
redevelopment. It was also prompted by Councilmember Betsy Hodges’
sponsorship of changes to the Minneapolis Zoning Code to curtail one of the
most criticized practices of builders of so called “McMansions” in Minneapolis
neighborhoods.

Details of participating neighborhoods, project categories, mailing instructions,
eligibility, and submission guidelines can be found on the BLEND Award web
site www.blendaward.org  -or- by contacting Phil Rader This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .