A/E Editor
Bloom in Kirkland took home the top honor in the Best Multifamily Housing Community – 30 to 60 DU/Acre category.The Pacific Coast Builders Conference recently announced the winners of its 2025 Golden Nugget Awards. Now in its 62nd year, the awards program recognizes the best projects and innovators in residential design, planning and development from across the United States.
Awards were presented to both single and multifamily projects in over 60 categories. Categories include custom homes, mixed-use, indoor-outdoor lifestyle, educational and senior housing. In each, best in category and merit awards were given.
A total of 695 entries were received this year. Of those, two Washington projects took home a best in category honor and 14 took home a merit award.
Seattle architecture firm Runberg Architecture Group designed two of the winning projects — the 775-unit, three-building Grand Street Commons in the Rainier Valley, and the 249-unit Ondina in Bellevue.
The Washington winners are as follows:
BEST IN CATEGORY WINNERS
Category: Best Multifamily Housing Community – 30 to 60 DU/Acre
Project name: Bloom
Location: Kirkland
Developer: Merit Homes
Architect: Encore Architects and Pelletier + Schaar
General contractor: W.G. Clark Construction Co.
Bloom is a 135-unit multifamily community located at 8505 132nd Ave. N.E. in Kirkland’s Rose Hill area.
The two-building project totals 180,618 square feet, with a mix of studios, one-bedroom, and two-bedroom apartments; 7,400 square feet of commercial space; 176 structured parking stalls and 25 surface stalls.
Designed to coexist with local businesses and the nearby downtown scene, the project sought to create a connection with nature and a sense of neighborhood. Residential balconies and large patio doorways weave into the existing walkable neighborhood. Shared outdoor amenities have wide sidewalks and there are pathways and landscaping throughout the site, creating both privacy and a sense of connection. In addition are plaza areas, outdoor barbecues, bike racks, water features and outdoor furnishings.
The development sits at a significant corner, located at a busy intersection bordering the cities of Kirkland and Redmond, and the junction of the North and South Rose Hill neighborhoods. Designers created a gateway marker with a two-story metal rose sculpture, honoring the history of Rose Hill and a commitment to the arts.
Thornton Creek Commons, a community of single-family homes in Northeast Seattle, won in multiple categories including Best Single Family Detached Home – Under 2,000 Square Feet.
Category: Best Infill Site Plan Solution
Project name: Thornton Creek Commons
Location: Seattle
Developer: The Cottage Company
Architect: Wenzlau Architects – Charles Wenzlau
General contractor: The Cottage Company
Category: Best Single Family Detached Home – Under 2,000 Square Feet
Project name: Thornton Creek Commons
Location: Seattle
Developer: The Cottage Company
Architect: Wenzlau Architects – Charles Wenzlau
General contractor: The Cottage Company
Thornton Creek Commons is a new “pocket neighborhood” in Northeast Seattle. The community has nine detached high-performance homes clustered on a 2.5-acre site bordering Thornton Creek.
Each home targets Built Green 5-Star certification and is Net Zero possible. The site includes an arboretum, fenced dog park, fire pit, and a meditation garden.
Category: Best Multifamily Housing Community – 100 DU/Acre or More
Runberg Architecture Group designed two of the winning projects, including this community, Ondina, in Bellevue.
Project name: Ondina
Location: Bellevue
Developer: Vulcan Real Estate
Architect: Runberg Architecture Group
General contractor: Exxel Pacific
Category: Best Landscape Architecture for a Community
Project name: Tehaleh
Location: Bonney Lake
Developer: Brookfield Residential
Landscape architect: GCH Planning & Landscape Architecture and MacKay Sposito
Category: Best Single Family Detached Home – Under 2,000 Square Feet
Project name: 1820 – Wycliff Cottage
Location: Kirkland
Developer: Legacy Capital
Architect: Mike Johnson – MWJ Homes
General contractor: BriKat Homes
Category: Best Single Family Detached Home – 3,000 to 3,500 Square Feet
Project name: Alterra – Plan 1
Location: Newcastle
Developer: Tri Pointe Homes
Architect: Woodley Architectural Group
Category: Best Interior Design of a Multifamily Community
Project name: The Spoke
Location: Redmond
Developer: MainStreet Property Group
Architect: Tiscareno
Interior design: DAHLIN Architecture, Planning, Interiors
General contractor: GenCap Construction Corp.
The 2025 Golden Nugget Awards grand honorees were recognized at a ceremony June 11 in Anaheim, California, during Pacific Coast Builders’ recent regional conference and trade show for real estate development. The full list of winners is at https://tinyurl.com/GNawards2025
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