The Urban Land Institute's Nashville District Council on Tuesday honored nine local developments with the group's Excellence in Development Award at a ceremony held at the Schermerhorn Symphony Center. 

The awards, which are based on an array of criteria including innovative land use and design, environmental consideration and invention, financial viability and neighborhood consideration, were given to some of Middle Tennessee's most high-profile projects. 

The winners included: Manuel Zeitlin Architect's Belmont Lofts mixed-use development; Steve Ashbury and Wade Elam Sr.'s mixed-use Edgehill Village concept; H.G. Hill Realty's Hill Center in Green Hills; MarketStreet Enterprises' and Bristol Development Group's condo project ICON in The Gulch; the Noah Liff Opera House; the Schermerhorn; Germantown Partners' Summer Street Lofts infill project; Vanderbilt University's eco-friendly The Commons housing residence; and the W.O. Smith Nashville Community Music School.

Tom Murphy, a senior ULI fellow and former Pittsburgh mayor responsible for the city's riverfront development and convention center, was the event's keynote speaker.