Gualberto “Gil” Medina
By Joshua Burd
New Jersey Future will highlight five transformative development projects this fall as part of its 24th annual Smart Growth Awards, where it will also recognize one of the state’s longtime and distinguished leaders in commercial real estate and economic development.
The smart growth organization, which will hold the event on Oct. 7 at the Newark Museum of Art, said this year’s winners are forward-thinking projects that are impacting their communities through visionary design, holistic thinking and thoughtful execution. They include:
Audible’s The Pillars (Newark)
- Description: Transforming a prominent downtown building into a vibrant retail and community hub that supports local entrepreneurs, activates the Arts and Education District and brings together commerce, culture and connection in Newark
- Primary partners: Audible, Studio Cooke John, Arterial: Street Design Studio, Bartholomew Lighting, Structure Tone
The Place at Haddonfield (Haddonfield)
- Description: Redeveloping a former municipal parking lot into a context-sensitive, walkable, 100 percent affordable housing development that integrates “missing middle” housing into Haddonfield’s historic downtown
- Primary partners: Borough of Haddonfield, CIS Construction, New Jersey Department of Community Affairs, NJ Community Loan Fund, Community Investment Strategies Inc.
Sanofi Flagship at M Station West (Morristown)
- Description: Creating a dynamic, transit-oriented workplace destination that relocated thousands of employees to walkable downtown Morristown, strengthening connections to local businesses, public spaces, transit and the community
- Primary partners: SJP Properties, Sanofi, Scotto Properties, Cushman & Wakefield, Gensler
The Crossings at Brick Church Station (East Orange)
- Description: Transforming an underutilized commercial corridor into a vibrant transit-oriented district with mixed-income housing, accessible food and health care services and public spaces that reconnect neighborhoods and drive East Orange’s economic revitalization
- Primary partners: Minno & Wasko Architects and Planners, City of East Orange, Triangle Equities, Bohler Engineering, New Jersey Housing and Mortgage Finance Agency, New Jersey Economic Development Authority
The Kempson, Metuchen
- Description: Repurposing a former industrial site into a thoughtfully designed residential neighborhood that remediates contaminated land, expands access to 32 acres of open space and recreation and creates a more walkable, connected Metuchen
- Primary partners: LRK, Klein Enterprises, Bohler, Borough of Metuchen, Middlesex County
The Trenton-based nonprofit, meantime, will recognize CBRE Executive Vice President Gil Medina with its 2026 Smart Growth Leadership Award, noting that he has consistently demonstrated through his public and private work that smart growth and economic growth can go hand in hand. Medina, who also chairs the New Jersey Chamber of Commerce and serves on New Jersey Future’s board, is a former New Jersey secretary of commerce, a role that paved the way for integrating economic development and smart planning.
He has defended and written regulatory policies that still guide New Jersey’s sustainability efforts, the organization wrote, noting that his accomplished career has spanned law, finance and commercial real estate.
“Gil is a unique individual who demonstrates by his actions and leadership that growing the state in a smart and sustainable way is good for businesses, our communities and the environment,” said Peter Kasabach, New Jersey Future executive director.
Since 2002, New Jersey Future’s Smart Growth Awards have recognized more than 150 projects, plans and policies that exemplify sound land use and sustainable development principles, the organization said. The awards spotlight innovation and collaboration that strengthen communities while preserving the state’s natural and built environments.
