EBRPHA Earns National Award of Excellence for Community Revitalization at Cypress at Ardendale
Three NAHRO Awards of Merit and an Award of Excellence recognize work in community revitalization, project design, and client services
BATON ROUGE, La. – The East Baton Rouge Parish Housing Authority (EBRPHA) has earned national recognition from the National Association of Housing and Redevelopment Officials (NAHRO), with Cypress at Ardendale, Phase I receiving an Award of Excellence for Community Revitalization.
Photo courtesy of NAHRO and Elevate Business Photography.
EBRPHA received three, 2026 NAHRO Awards of Merit. The Community Revitalization honor for Cypress at Ardendale went on to earn the highest recognition, the Award of Excellence, bringing national recognition to a development leading neighborhood transformation in the Capital Region.
The four-phase, Cypress at Ardendale community is developed through a partnership between EBRPHA, Partners Southeast and The Integral Group. Phase I includes 170, mixed-income homes financed by $70M in public and private investment and is a key part of the broader HUD Choice Neighborhood Transformation Plan, leveraging over $400M in public-private investment.
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NAHRO highlighted the development's connected housing, walkable streets and access to education and workforce opportunities as part of its contributionto long-term neighborhood growth.
EBRPHA received NAHRO Awards of Excellence and Merit for:
- Cypress at Ardendale, Phase I - Community Revitalization
- Award of Excellence and Merit
- Cypress at Ardendale, Phase I - Project Design
- Award of Merit
- Health & Housing: Bringing Care Home - Resident and Client Services
- Award of Merit
“These awards reflect the work happening every day to create communities where quality housing serves as a foundation for greater opportunity,” said J. Wesley Daniels, Jr., CEO of EBRPHA. “Through BR Choice Neighborhoods and developments like Cypress at Ardendale, we are investing in neighborhoods and creating communities of opportunity and choice.”
In 2026, twenty-nine housing agencies received 193 NAHRO Awards of Merit, with seventeen awardees going on to achieve Awards of Excellence, the highest. NAHRO established its Awards of Merit program in 1989 to recognize member agencies' successes and share innovations and best practices across the housing and community development industry.
The Award of Excellence reflects the transformational work behind Cypress at Ardendale and BR Choice Neighborhoods to connect new housing and investment with lasting community revitalization in the Capital Region.
NAHRO's Community Innovation Award Winners
About the East Baton Rouge Parish Housing Authority
For over 80 years, the East Baton Rouge Parish Housing Authority has served families by providing affordable housing opportunities. EBRPHA's ACCESS strategy reaches more than 14,000 people across the Capital Region.
About Partners Southeast
For over 20 years, Partners Southeast has sought to use housing as a vehicle to make measurable impacts in education, economic opportunities, and health and wellness in communities throughout the Southeast. Partners Southeast provides and develops quality housing opportunities for individuals and families while promoting self-sufficiency and neighborhood revitalization and focusing on strategic investments in people, neighborhoods, and housing, seamlessly mixing market-rate and affordable units, creating vibrant communities.
About NAHRO
NAHRO, which was established in 1933, is a membership organization of more than 26,000 housing and community development providers and professionals throughout the United States. NAHRO members create and manage affordable housing for low- and middle-income families, and support vibrant communities that enhance the quality of life for all. NAHRO members administer more than 3 million homes for more than 8 million people.
About the Community Innovation Awards Program
The NAHRO Community Innovation Awards Program (previously the NAHRO Award of Merit Program) gives national recognition to the achievement and innovation of NAHRO members; to provide additional opportunities to inform the public of best practices in housing and community development; and to create a resource bank of information on significant, innovative activities performed by housing and redevelopment agencies and community development departments. Since 1989, NAHRO has honored more than 6,000 programs.
The Awards of Merit applications are reviewed, evaluated and winners selected by regional juries. The Awards of Excellence are awarded to the best entries in each category from among the Award of Merit winners.
Media Contact
Miranda Thomas
Communications Director
(225) 223-5067
mthomas@ebrpha.org