Press Release: ULI Atlanta bestows Bob Lupton and Chip Davidson with non-profit’s highest community honors
August 21, 2019
ATLANTA (August 14, 2019) — ULI Atlanta, an Urban Land Institute (ULI) district council, is pleased to announce two leaders have been selected to receive the non-profit organization’s most prestigious awards for their outstanding contributions to the Atlanta community and the real estate industry. Bob Lupton, an urban activist and founder of Focused Community Strategies (FCS), is honored with the Dan and Tally Sweat Community Leadership Award, and Charles L. “Chip” Davidson, III, the chairman, CEO and cofounder of The Brookdale Group, LLC, is honored with the Frank Carter Community Achievement Award. Lupton and Davidson will both be recognized during ULI Atlanta’s 25th Annual Awards for Excellence dinner, held on Sept. 12 at the Coca-Cola Roxy Theatre.
“ULI Atlanta is proud to celebrate Bob Lupton and Chip Davidson’s visionary leadership for creating thriving, urban communities,” said Sarah Kirsch, executive director of ULI Atlanta. “While much careful consideration goes into the selection of every ULI award recipient, the Sweat and Carter awards are especially reserved for the rare, high-caliber individuals who fully embody ULI’s mission and whose contributions are aligned with the awards’ esteemed, historical precedents. We are grateful for their work and that these luminaries call Atlanta home.”
Lupton joins a list of 20 notable leaders within the non-profit/public sector who have made significant contributions to promoting responsible land use in the metropolitan Atlanta region since 1998. The first the Dan & Tally Sweat Community Leadership Award was given to Renee Glover, and throughout the years, fellow honorees have included Bernie Marcus, Andrew Young, Hattie Dorsey, Ed McBrayer, and most recently Keith Parker.
Since launching FCS in 1978, Lupton has partnered with under-resourced Atlanta neighborhoods including Grant Park, Ormewood Park, Summerhill, East Lake and Historic South Atlanta to create flourishing communities through a range of initiatives such as mixed-income housing, economic development, neighborhood engagement, training and consulting. He also serves as a public speaker, strategist and is the author of several books, including Toxic Charity, Theirs is the Kingdom, Renewing the City, and most recently Charity Detox which draws on his many decades of experience and outlines how to structure programs to improve the quality of the life of the impoverished and disenfranchised.
“Bob has devoted his life’s work to rebuilding urban neighborhoods where all families can flourish and making a real impact that will carry forward for future generations,” said David Allman, owner and chairman of Regent Partners and a national trustee for ULI, who is one of many who supported Lupton’s candidacy for the recognition. “His work exemplifies the philosophy of leading by example and Atlanta is a better place today thanks to his decades-long commitment to our city.”
As this year’s recipient of the distinguished The Frank Carter Community Achievement Award, Davidson was selected for his outstanding contribution to the metropolitan Atlanta region in the field of real estate development. Since 1995, ULI Atlanta has previously selected 23 individuals for the honor, beginning with Tom Cousins and including AJ Land, John Portman, Lawrence & Mary Gellerstedt, Jerry Cooper and Egbert Perry.
Prior to launching The Brookdale Group, Davidson spent 16 years at Hines, where he served as the executive vice president and regional partner responsible for oversight of all investment, development, property management, leasing and asset management activities in Hines’ Southeast Region. Among his notable career accomplishments are the award-winning Ravinia development in the Central Perimeter submarket and the iconic 191 Peachtree building in the heart of downtown Atlanta.
“Chip is a quiet, behind-the-scenes leader of Atlanta real estate. Since establishing the Southeast Hines office here in 1983, Chip has been an industry leader, introducing international-quality architecture and innovation to the suburbs at Ravinia, and later in downtown with 191 Peachtree,”
said Bob Voyles, principal of Seven Oaks Company and former chairman of ULI’s Atlanta District Council. “He not only helped to usher in a new era of attention to design and detail to the built environment, but is also known for his successful establishment of the Brookdale Funds, and his generous mentorship to so many across our industry.”
In addition to honoring Lupton and Davidson, The ULI Atlanta’s 25th Annual Awards for Excellence Dinner will recognize recipients of the following awards: Excellence in Office/ Commercial Mixed-Used Development; Excellence in Adaptive Reuse/Repurposing; Excellence in Housing Development; Excellence in Civic/Institutional Development; Excellence in Preservation; Excellence in Town Center Development; ULI Alabama Development of Excellence; and the inaugural People’s Choice for the Public Realm.
For more information about ULI Atlanta’s Awards for Excellence and to purchase tickets to the event, visit https://atlanta.uli.org/events/25th-annual-awards/.
About ULI Atlanta:
ULI is a global non-profit education and research organization focused on advancing the responsible use of land and the enhancement of quality of life through the support, creation, and expansion of inclusive, walkable urban places. With more than 1,400 members throughout the Atlanta region, ULI Atlanta is one of the largest and most active District Councils. ULI Atlanta brings together local leaders from across the fields of real estate and land use policy to exchange best practices and serve community needs through education, applied research, publishing, technical support, events and programs. See atlanta.uli.org for more information.