Preservation Kentucky 2024 Excellence in Preservation Awards and Annual Meeting

Meet our 2024 Excellence In Preservation Award Recipients!

The awards were held on Saturday, 26 October 2024 at the historic The Delegate Hotel in Frankfort to recognize Kentuckians for their exceptional accomplishments in the preservation, rehabilitation and interpretation of the Commonwealth’s historic places


 

Excellence Awards Demonstrate the Positive Economic and Social Impact of Historic Preservation

 

Each year thousands of Kentuckians work tirelessly to preserve Kentucky’s legacy reflected in our historic buildings, structures, landscapes and prehistoric sites. Preservation Kentucky established the Excellence in Preservation Awards in 2012 to recognize exceptional accomplishments in the preservation, rehabilitation and interpretation of our architectural and cultural heritage, and to distinguish best practices in the field. The awards feature people and projects from rural and urban communities throughout the state, and their stories are inspirational, encouraging reminders of how historic preservation strengthens communities, fosters economic development, maintains and creates jobs, and contributes to our quality of life.  The wide range of recipients is a testament to our statewide reach and the preservation community.  View the list of recipients since 2012 > Preservation Kentucky Excellence Award Recipients 2012-2023

 

Award Categories and 2024 Recipients

Preservation Kentucky’s Excellence in Preservation Awards are named after preservation trailblazers with a distinguished history of volunteer service and professional time devoted to preserving Kentucky’s architectural, cultural and prehistoric heritage,

 

The Discovering Unmarked African American Burials in Florence Cemetery Project, Burlington (Boone County)

Edith S. Bingham Excellence in Preservation Education

 

 

Pennyroyal Area Museum, Hopkinsville (Christian County)

Christy and Owsley Brown II Excellence in Public Service to Preservation

 

Wendell Berry, Newcastle (Henry County)

Linda Bruckheimer Excellence in Rural Preservation Award

 

 

Purchase of Development Rights Conservation Easement Program (Fayette County)

Helen Dedman Excellence in Preservation Advocacy

 

 

Dr. Phillip and Mrs, Trudy Tibbs, Lexington (Bourbon, Nicholas and Fayette Counties)

Barbara Hulette Excellence in Preservation Leadership

 

 

Russell Waddell, Dry Stone Conservancy (Statewide)

Patrick Kennedy Excellence in Preservation Craftsmanship

 

 

Bardstown Motor Lodge, Bardstown (Nelson County) and Myriad Hotel, Louisville (Jefferson County)

David L. Morgan Excellence in Kentucky Historic Rehabilitation Tax Credit – Commercial

 

 

Troublesome Creek Stringed Instrument Company’s Addiction Recovery Program, Hindman (Knott County)

Tim Peters and Lois Mateus Excellence in Making a Difference on Main Street

 

 

Bell Chapel African American Heritage Project, Belltown (Marion County)

Ann Early Sutherland Excellence in Environmental Preservation

 

 

Louisville Water Tower and Pumping Station No. 1, Louisville (Jefferson County)

Preservation Kentucky Excellence in Kentucky Cultural Heritage Tourism

 

 

Our 2024 Excellence Awards Hosts –  Weyland Ventures & Common Bond Hotels

Bill Weyland, Weyland Ventures and Common Bond Hotel Collection

 Award winning architect and real estate broker Bill Weyland has played a crucial role revitalizing Louisville and historic properties across the nation.  In May of this year, he received the prestigious Ida Lee Willis Memorial Award for a lifetime of investment and redevelopment of some of Louisville’s most historic and iconic buildings.  His portfolio represents hundreds of millions of investment dollars in projects that create jobs, provide housing, support high-profile businesses, and draw people from all over the world to Kentucky.

A self-described “serial user” of rehabilitation tax credits to make projects financially feasible, Bill leads a talented team of professionals at the multidisciplinary real estate firm, Weyland Ventures.  Their expertise in historic tax credits, new market credits and other layered financial methods has earned them a national reputation as problem solvers skilled at tacking tough projects and repurposing old buildings for new uses.  Common Bond Hotel Collection was founded as a sister company to Weyland Ventures in 2019 to operate the restaurants, hotels, and other businesses in Weyland-owned adaptive reuse projects, helping to preserve the architectural legacy of these buildings and keep them viable for current and future generations.

History of The Delegate Hotel, Frankfort

Known historically as the Jeremiah Weldon South warehouse, the impressive Italianate style, wedge-shaped building, situated along the steep incline of East Broadway, makes The Delegate an imposing contribution to two National Register Historic Districts:  Frankfort Historic Commercial District, listed in 1979, and Central Frankfort Historic District, listed in 2009.

The warehouse was built in 1879 by Col. J.W. South, known as the “Father of Breathitt County.”  A longtime Lessee of the Penitentiary, he was described in a Dept. of Justice prison history as an influential man.  He died in 1880, and the name of his son, Samuel South, appeared on the 1886, 1890, and 1896 Sanborn fire insurance maps.  Samuel died in 1889, and his widow sold her interest in the building around 1898.  A portion of the warehouse was leased for the E.H. Taylor, Jr. Co. in 1883, as a whiskey warehouse and for cold rectifying.  The Kentucky Buggy and Harness Company used the warehouse from 1891 until 1901.  Others that operated there or used it for storage include Capital Printing (1890s); Ford & Johnson Chair Co. (early 1900s); Frankfort Broom Co. (1920s); and Hoge-Montgomery shoe warehouse (1930s).

Weyland Ventures purchased the building in 2023.  Their extensive experience with historic tax credits and design talent, and an injection of Kentucky Tourism tax credits are transforming the warehouse into a stylish 48-room boutique hotel and restaurant guaranteed to become a favorite travel destination and gathering place in the capital city.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

*View the list of recipients since 2012 > Preservation Kentucky Excellence Award Recipients 2012-2023