Chesterton, IN- Coffee Creek Center, a Lake Erie Land Company community, is being showcased as one of the world's 26 most innovative master-planned communities in a newly-published book by the Urban Land Institute, entitled, "Great Planned Communities".

The anthology of case studies features some of the best examples of design and development innovation, with a full sweep of communities from every region of the United States and in Australia, Canada, China, England and Germany.

According to Jo Allen Gause, ULI senior director of residential development and editor of "Great Planned Communities", "Coffee Creek Center was selected because of its innovation and scope. Its design elements provide solutions to the most pressing issues confronting community development professionals in the coming years- affordability, sustainability, and increasing market diversity".

Coffee Creek Center, along with the other "New Visions" communities of Civano, Tucson, AZ; Jinji Lake, Suzhou, China; Playa Vista, Los Angeles, CA; Stapleton, Denver, CO; Verrado, Buckeye, AZ; and WaterColor, Seagrove Beach, FL. Is featured as one of the future communities offering flexible master plans that are sensitive to its environment and responsive to the lifestyles of its residents.

Envisioned as an environmentally sensitive, mixed use community defined by urbanlike densities and walkable destinations, Coffee Creek Center illustrates the opportunities that can be found in urban infill and brownfield redevelopment. The sustainable design and environmental principles such as constructed wetland wastwater treatment, innovative hydrology solutions for storm water treatment, prairie and creek restoration and wetland mitigation, have been featured in Time Magazine, Conservation Voices, Crain's Chicago Business, Metropolitan Home and House Beautiful.

""It's an honor to be included in such a select group of projects," said LEL Director of Land Development, Kevin Warren. "And," he added, "the fact that the ULI is honoring these projects truly demonstrates that the cutting edge approaches to development that these projects represent really do describe the future of real estate development."

ULI, a non-profit education and research institute founded in 1936, is one of the world's most respected research institutes in urban planning, land use and development. Its mission is to provide its 17,000 members worldwide with leadership in the use of land and long-term responsible growth strategies.

Coffee Creek Center is a 640-acre neo-traditional community in Northwest Indiana slated for up to 2,000 residential units and over 3 million square feet of commercial, office and retail space. For more information, please visit www.coffeecreekcenter.com.