San Diego

Downtown condominium developers Ted Odmark and John Thelan and the Centre City Development Corp., the agency that oversees downtown redevelopment, on Friday were given the Award for Excellence by the Urban Land Institute, the nation’s leading urban design association.

The prestigious national award, one of only seven announced at an Urban Land Institute conference in Chicago, is the first ever presented to a San Diego project in the 12-year history of the awards, which recognize superior design, sensitivity to the environment, resourceful use of land and finances.

Odmark, Thelan and the agency were recognized for Columbia Place, a 103-unit condominium project at Columbia and G streets. The complex developed by the Odmark & Thelan company is built around two historic buildings, the Old Cracker factory and the Royster building, both of which were renovated.

The Urban Land Institute is based in Washington and has 17,000 members, including developers, architects, land planners, financiers, academicians and public officials.