As we plan for the thirteenth annual WaveMaker Awards in October, we celebrate our 2020 Lifetime Achievement Award winner, Charles “Charlie” B. Duff. Duff, president of Jubilee Baltimore and an experienced developer and planner, recognized virtually in 2020, will be recognized in-person at the award ceremony in October.

ULI’s Lifetime Achievement Award is given to a recognized leader in the development community who has served more than two decades; has touched all aspects of development (acquisition, design, financing, implementation); and has touched a variety of different land uses (retail, office residential, hospitality, etc.).

Since 1987, Charlie has served as President of Jubilee Baltimore. At Jubilee, Charlie leads an organization responsible for the revival of several dozen Baltimore neighborhoods including Butcher’s Hill, Mount Vernon and Station North. He has built or rebuilt more than 300 buildings simultaneously providing affordable housing, preserving historic structures, and revitalizing neighborhoods. Charlie pioneered the redevelopment of residential and commercial buildings for artists and arts organizations, a catalyst for the Station North neighborhood development.

Charlie is a frequent lecturer on architectural history at the Walters Art Museum, the Johns Hopkins University and Morgan State University. He is the past president of both the Baltimore Architecture Foundation and several community boards including the Patterson Park Community Development Corporation.

“As a community leader, art historian, developer, and author, Charlie Duff has made an outstanding commitment to development throughout our city and region,” said Josh Halbedel, ULI Baltimore District Council Chair. “His emphasis on improving the neighborhoods of Baltimore and provide affordable housing will leave a lasting impact for years to come. We are honored to present him with this year’s Lifetime Achievement Award.”

Charlie co-authored Then and Now: Baltimore Architecture in 2005 and contributed to The Architecture of Baltimore. In 2019, Charlie published The North Atlantic Cities, a book detailing the history of the architecture and development style in Baltimore and the other row house cities in the US and Europe. Charlie is a graduate of Amherst College and the Harvard Graduate School of Design and studied at St. Andrews University in Scotland.
The 2018 Lifetime Achievement Award recipient was Kurt Schmoke, president of the University of Baltimore and former three-term Mayor of Baltimore.