21c Museum Hotel founders Steve Wilson and Laura Lee Brown won the top state award for historic preservation in Kentucky, given annually by the Ida Lee Willis Memorial Foundation and the Kentucky Heritage Council. They were honored for starting their Louisville-based boutique hotel chain in rehabilitated, historic commercial buildings here and elsewhere and for garnering “national and international attention for their innovation and hospitality,” a council spokesman told The Courier-Journal.
Founded in 2006, 21c now has locations in Louisville on West Main Street, and in five other cities: Bentonville, Ark.; Cincinnati; Durham, N.C.; Lexington, and Oklahoma City. Watch Wilson and Brown talk about 21c:
Lawrence has looked at a Tribeca apartment just like this; photo shows the model unit.
Boulevard reviews the latest media coverage of the Oscar-winning Louisville native in our exclusive Jennifer Lawrence Diary™. Today’s news, rated on a scale of 1-5 stars:
Let’s just go for the jugular: Lawrence, all of 25, is kicking the tires at a paparazzi-proof four-bedroom, four and one-half bath condo in New York City that’s on the market for:
$14,400,000
And that’s just the asking price, because buyers often bid way above in white-hot markets like New York, San Francisco, and the city where Lawrence already has at least one home: Beverly Hills.
The building is in the Tribeca neighborhood, downtown on the west side and snuggled up to the Hudson River. Specifically: 443 Greenwich St. It’s apartment 3A — meaning, incredibly at that price: No. River. View. And hello, street noise.
“The swankified 1880s book bindery-turned-condo has been an easy sell among the monied elite. ‘We’re creating an environment that is genuine TriBeCa yet also paparazzi-proof,’ MetroLoft principle Nathan Berman said in a statement. Those private amenities include drive-in, drive-out underground parking and a second lobby for residents wanting to take private elevators. The building also features a central courtyard only for building residents.”
Compared to other prices in the building, apartment 3A is a steal. The penthouse is on the market for $55 million; that would be a record for downtown, Curbed says. For more perspective on 3A’s $14.4 million ask, consider the priciest home up for grabs here in Louisville is $16 million (and a recent price cut from $20 million suggests the seller is motivated).
The bottom line: For this condo’s sheer gorgeousness, Boulevard awards Curbed a rare, and coveted five-star review!
Here, by the way, is the curb appeal of Greenwich Street in front of the building; yup, that’s a loading dock on the left-hand side:
10:35 a.m., Please & Thank You on East Market in NuLu. They’re playing Isaac Hayes’ “Joy” from 1973 — on an LP. How do we know? It skipped! A small coffee made from Good Folks beans: $3, with a generous tip.
A news summary, focused on big employers; updated 9:16 p.m.
A model year 2014 F-150 of the kind being recalled.Ford
FORD is recalling about 271,000 2013-14 F-150 pickups with 3.5-liter V-6 engines because the brakes may malfunction, the automaker said today. The company said it was aware of nine accidents but no injuries (New York Times). Also, Executive Chairman Bill Ford Jr. defended the automaker against blistering criticism by White House candidate Donald Trump, saying it should be held up as an example of a company doing things right. Trump has called Ford’s decision to build a $1.6 billion assembly plant in Mexico an “absolute disgrace” that would not happen if he becomes president (Detroit News).
UPS is doubling the size of an expansion announced last fall that was already going to add another 300 jobs to the so-called Centennial Hub; it’s unclear whether the bigger project will require even more hiring (Courier-Journal). UPS originally announced the project last October, saying it would cost $300 million and would be substantially complete by 2018 (press release).
HUMANA: Missouri’s insurance regulators are asking Humana and Aenta to make changes before the state approves their pending $34 billion merger announced July 3 (Business First).
KINDRED‘s shareholders approved the executive compensation plan during a non-binding advisory vote today at their annual meeting. They also re-elected the full slate of 11 directors to the governing board; the company didn’t provide a vote breakdown, which will likely come in a future regulatory filing (press release).
CHURCHILL DOWNS broke ground yesterday on a previously announced $25 million expansion of its Oxford Casino in Maine. The project includes a 106-room hotel, new dining, and an expanded gaming area. Churchill bought the casino in 2013 (WLBZ).
AMAZON said today it would open a second distribution center in Joliet, Ill., 46 miles southwest of Chicago. The company will create more than 2,000 full-time jobs at the facility in addition to the 1,500 full-time employees currently working at its existing Joliet center (press release). The city has 148,000 residents; more census facts. Also, the company plans to expand its Fresh grocery delivery service this year to new markets including Boston (Recode). More about Amazon’s Louisville area operations.
In other news, Bardstown Road is getting another craft beer restaurant: The Eagle, which has locations in Cincinnati and Indianapolis. It’s taking the space now occupied by El Camino, which is moving to another, undisclosed location two miles away and with half the current 300 seats (Insider Louisville). The Eagle will join the soon-to-open HopCat at Grinstead and Bardstown, which will have 130 craft beers and seating for 600. Also in the works: Sterling Brewing has announced plans for a restaurant at 1300 Bardstown Road (Courier-Journal). And there are already so many more.
Elsewhere in hospitality land, the average Louisville hotel room rate will jump 13.9 percent to $119.35 by 2020, according to a new report (Insider Louisville).
Finally, U.S. stocks soared for the second consecutive day after positive economic data, rising oil prices, and a new debt deal for Greece. The Dow Jones Industrial average and other major indices all closed up nearly 1% after similar gains yesterday (Google Finance). Nearly all 11 big-employer shares in the Boulevard Stock Portfolio rose, too.
The University of Louisville and other public colleges have built the biggest endowments, but are nonetheless lagging other, often smaller institutions in annual investment returns, according to a new report today by the Kentucky Center for Investigative Reporting. For its report, the center examined five years’ worth of investment returns of 11 endowments statewide.
Boulevard reviews the latest media coverage of 
Let’s just go for the jugular: Lawrence, all of 25, is kicking the tires at a paparazzi-proof four-bedroom, four and one-half bath condo in New York City that’s on the market for:
In other news, Bardstown Road is getting another craft beer restaurant: 
Boulevard 