“What people see outside of the building needs to convey the excellence of what is occurring inside. We are always looking for ways to cost-effectively improve the exterior,” said Gregg Tyree, director of operations for HudsonAlpha. His comments followed the announcement by city officials that the Institute had earned the Huntsville Beautification Award for the second year in a row.
Awards are based on criteria including: first impression, originality, distinction, design, selection and quality of plants (trees, shrubs, flowers, grass, ground cover), maintenance, hardscape design and litter control. According to Tyree, HudsonAlpha received a score of 97.6 out of 100.
Judges acknowledged the water feature at the Institute’s entrance, as well as the addition of Power of Thought, a statue depicting man’s pursuit of excellence, as impressive and conducive to the Institute’s organizational mission. They also singled out the use of ground cover as an attractive feature of the Institute’s landscaping.
Tyree noted that HudsonAlpha earned recognition the first year the Institute was eligible able to compete. This second award, he added, puts the facility well on its way to a spot on the honor roll. An honor roll designation is earned with five successive awards. If this goal is attained, Tyree hopes to win the Mayor’s Award – five years honor roll designation plus a perfect 100 percent score by judges and a positive vote by other nominees.
Grounds Control of Huntsville, Inc., owned by Frank Tortorigi, maintains the landscape at HudsonAlpha. Tyree plans to continue working with Tortorigi and Grounds Control to maintain the landscape of the six-acre green space that will link the HudsonAlpha Institute to buildings that will eventually populate the Cummings Research Park Biotech Campus.
“We plan to tie the two entities together seamlessly. Next year’s judging will be a big challenge for us as we will be responsible for the new area as well as Institute grounds,” Tyree said.
The Jackson Center also won a Beautification Award for its first year of eligibility.
