Liberty Station honored with international award

Liberty Station, the 360-acre redevelopment of the former Naval Training Center in Point Loma, won an award of excellence last week from FIABCI, the international real estate organization based in Paris.

Representations of Corky McMillin Cos., which is overseeing the transformation of the 90-year-old base, accepted the award in Paphos, Cyprus, an island in the eastern Mediterranean, at the 62nd annual congress of the International Real Estate Federation, known by its French initials, FIABCI (pronounced fee-OB-si).

Julie K. Danielson, one of 5,000 members of the organization and a McMillin real estate agent who handles deals in Mexico and South America, said it may be the first San Diego project to have won a FIABCI award.

Danielson attended the May 16-21 event along with McMillin executive Kimberly Elliott.

"It's really exciting for Liberty Station to be recognized internationally, and we're just thrilled," Elliott said.

The company submitted its nomination package last year, including description, history and photos, and paid a 1,500-euro entry fee (about $2,100).

The results appeared in a special advertising section Monday of the Wall Street Journal. There were 62 entries in 15 categories with Liberty Station winning for best master plan.

The judges called the project a "vibrant, mixed-use, pedestrian-oriented community."

The only other American winner was 87-story, $500 million Aqua Tower, a residential project in Chicago, in the high-rise housing category.

The full list is available online at fiabciprix.com

During their week in Cyprus, Danielson and Elliott said they compared notes with other delegates on the state of real estate worldwide.

"We got the sense that this real estate recession is definitely worldwide," Elliott said.

Danielson said she gained new appreciation for historic preservation from delegates who deal with infill and redevelopment of neighborhoods hundreds of years old.

"One of the most interesting forums we sat in was on the influence of culture and civilization on real estate and how important it is to protect the past," she said, "and how the history and cultural identities of communities influence value on real estate."

She said she hasn't come back a full-fledged, bona fide preservationist.

"But I am certainly more aware of what the global market is doing and how we are going to have to compete in this country," she said.

She added, "As we go forward as a nation and as individual communities, we have a chance to look at what is from our heritage and start to keep in mind that even though our country is only some-230 years old, to have those (historic sites) in the future, we're going to have to look at some ways to creatively incorporate them into our communities."

roger.showley@uniontrib.com, (619) 293-1286; Twitter: @rmshowley; Facebook: sdutshowley