I was driving in Wauwatosa recently and came across the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Innovation Accelerator, the first building at UWM’s budding Innovation Campus. I was amazed at the amount of development that has occurred in the area and how the area had changed in recent years.As reporter Alison Bauter points out in her story on the Innovation Accelerator, it is an impressive venture as it draws together researchers from UWM with the Medical College of Wisconsin, Concordia University Wisconsin and additional academic institutions already in line. It combines academic pursuits with commercial potential, and pairs industry partners with startups and researchers.Its success caught the attention of our judges, who chose it for the Milwaukee Business Journal’s Project of the Year.The same can be said for many of our winners this year. Whether it is the first phase of the Mayfair Collection retail development in Wauwatosa that includes southeastern Wisconsin’s first Nordstrom Rack and Saks Fifth Avenue Off 5th stores or the Milwaukee School of Engineering Grohmann Tower, these 17 projects are helping to transform southeastern Wisconsin.This was another great year for the Real Estate Awards as we had more than 35 nominations. Business Journal editors reviewed the nominations, narrowing the field. Then I met with our panel of judges, where we reviewed each nomination and all the supporting material that was submitted. We spent a great deal of time debating the merits, financial success and most important, each development’s impact on the community.I want to thank our judges for their help, advice and expertise. Their work each year has greatly enhanced our awards program.View the full article including the complete list of winners as recently posted by Mark Kass on the Milwaukee Business Journal website.View the feature on the DVA - Community Resource & Referral Center, which won the Best Neighborhood Impact Award on the Milwaukee Business Journal website.View the full article recently posted by Tom Daykin on the DVA - Community Resource & Referral Center on the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel website.