Azure at Bonita Bay, a high-rise developed by the Lutgert Companies, has earned a Silver Award from the Sales and Marketing Council of the National Association of Home Builders, making it eligible for a prestigious Gold Award, to be announced in February.

Azure received the silver for Best Landscape Design for an Attached Community, and was recognized for the best landscape design in the Florida-Georgia region. The awards were based on landscape effectiveness, impact and function.

Judges honored the landscape design of the 26-story high-rise for integrating with the natural environment of the surrounding Bonita Bay community.

The landscaping at Azure features a variety of foliage at the building’s footprint and around the pool and amenity area, as well as on the building’s rooftop sunset terrace. Red maples, live oaks and several species of palms blend function and form to provide a green, shady backdrop accentuated by numerous bamboos, ferns and other variegated species. Pentas, Mexican bluebells and more than 1,200 annuals add splashes of color and interest.

Azure is the second Lutgert Companies’ high-rise to receive a Silver Award for Landscape Design from the NAHB. In 2004, Estancia at Bonita Bay received similar honors for excellence in landscaping. Both buildings were designed in collaboration with Smith/Barnes/Santiesteban Architecture and Bruce Howard Associates Landscape Architects.