Liberty Property Trust (NYSE:LRY), which owns and manages more than 77 million square feet of office and industrial properties in the United States and United Kingdom, today announced it has received the Urban Land Institute’s “Award of Excellence: The Americas” for Comcast Center, the tallest, sustainably designed building in the nation.

This is the second time the company has won a ULI Award of Excellence in five years, having received one for The Plaza at PPL Center (Allentown, PA) in 2004. The award is given to ten projects annually and the contest is recognized as one of the land use industry’s most prestigious recognition programs.

“Comcast Center was selected as one of just 10 awardees from more than 140 prestigious projects, and it is a true honor,” said John Gattuso, regional director and senior vice president, Liberty Property Trust. “What is unique about this award is that it takes into consideration nearly every aspect of the development process, which is why winning it is such an achievement. It recognizes the efforts of everyone who worked on this decade-long project - a very large and talented team.”

The competition is part of the Institute’s Awards for Excellence program, which is based on ULI’s guiding principle of recognizing best practices to promote better land use and development. The criteria for the awards include leadership, contribution to the community, innovations, public/private partnership, environmental protection and enhancement, response to societal needs, and financial viability. The projects are judged by a jury of renowned land use development and design experts.

Liberty’s development of Comcast Center has created a new gateway for commuters in the Philadelphia region. Since opening in 2008, it has quickly become a gathering space for Philadelphians who frequent the shops, restaurants, interactive Plaza fountains and a most unique video wall - all of which reinforce the criteria listed above.