A mixed-used artist-loft project by Woodmont Properties won the grand prize at the 32^nd Annual Awards of Excellence, presented by the Metropolitan Builders and Contractors Association of New Jersey.

West Side Lofts, being built in Red Bank by Fairfield-based Woodmont Properties, won the Grand Community of the Year Award as well as awards for Best Mixed-Use Housing Community, Best Clubhouse, Best Model Home for Rental Housing, Best Signage, Best Landscaping, Best Special Event, Best Brochure, Best Sales Video and Best Color Ad.

The awards were among 95 selected from 149 entries in four categories. Metro presents the awards each year to recognize the best work done by its 300 members, who are builders, remodelers, tradespeople and professionals who support the homebuilding industry.

Winners were chosen by a panel of independent judges who came from outside Metro's six-county area.

"Our members are the best at what they do in this part of the state," said Metro President Philip Calinda Jr. Calinda won two awards. "When you look at the skill, imagination and attention to detail, you see that our members do the job the right way."

Awards were given in four categories: Builders (new construction), Remodelers, Associates (tradespeople and professionals) and individual achievement awards. In addition to beautiful single-family and multi-family homes, winners included the reconstruction of a home ravaged by fire, and the painstaking restoration of a mid-19^th Century Eclectic Italianate home in Weehawken.

The judges also selected the best of the best, recognizing four communities as Communities of the Year:

• Best Attached-Home Community: Reserve at Montvale, K. Hovnanian Homes
• Best Multi-Family/Mixed-Use Housing: West Side Lofts, Red Bank, Woodmont Properties
• Best Rental Community: Woodmont Station, Cranford, Woodmont Properties
• Best Adult Community: Dawson Brook, Randolph, Dawson Brook Development

Woodmont's West Side Lofts is a mixed-use development in downtown Red Bank. It includes three live/work lofts for artists, 79 lofts and 10 townhomes. It also includes 13,000 square-feet of retail space, including a pub, and a 221-car garage.

"New Jersey builders face unique challenges," said Calinda. "We work in an area where land is at a premium, where government regulations are challenging and where the economic recovery lags behind the rest of the nation. Still, as our award winners demonstrated tonight, we develop solutions for families and communities that deliver quality housing that coexists well with the surrounding environment.  Whether it's remodeling a kitchen or bath, rebuilding a family's home or building a community of homes, our members do great work every day."

Information about Metro is available at www.metrobca.org or by calling (973) 887-2888.