Whether as accomplished art collectors and philanthropists, experienced commercial real estate developers and builders, financial and legal experts, brilliant urban planners and architects, or dedicated civil servants at all levels of government, everyone involved in the vision that’s become Museum Plaza is passionate about it.

Partners in life and long-time Louisville investors, philanthropists, farmers, and collectors of contemporary art, Laura Lee and Steve conceived Museum Plaza as a way to bring a world-class contemporary art center to downtown Louisville. They are also the visionaries behind 21c Museum Hotel, recently voted the #1 hotel in the United States and #6 hotel in the world by the readers of Condé Nast Traveler magazine . The Kentucky Society of Architects presented Laura Lee and Steve their 2005 award for outstanding contributions to architecture in Kentucky. Staunch protectors of Kentucky's rural landscape, they’ve provided years of leadership and financial support for programs and projects promoting the cultural and intellectual promise of downtown Louisville.

Steve, founder of Poe Companies, is well known as a successful entrepreneur of complex projects and for putting together strategic partnerships to shepherd them to completion. He has built a reputation for taking underperforming assets and creating value for investors. His numerous successful real estate developments are located in Florida, Texas, Arizona, Utah, Tennessee, and Belize.

Craig is an attorney who specializes in development strategies that turn important and challenging urban real estate projects into realities.  Craig is Vice Chair of 21c Museum Hotels LLC and he also manages an ancillary business for Frost Brown Todd LLC which has helped clients raise and invest over $250 million in low-income communities across the country through the New Markets Tax Credit program. Craig is on the boards of several civic and charitable organizations and he is on the Board of Directors of Republic Bancorp (NASDAQ: RBCAA).

President of Construction & Development for Poe Companies, Eric has more than 20 years of experience as a construction manager on $2+ billion worth of construction. Among the projects he has helped guide through either pre-construction or construction phases are the new Indianapolis Colts NFL Stadium, the Cincinnati Reds MLB Stadium, and McCormick Place Convention Center in Chicago.

Formerly OMA New York, the U.S. contingent of Rem Koolhaas’ Netherlands-based OMA, REX-NY is design consultant on Museum Plaza. The firm’s work includes numerous acclaimed projects, including the Seattle Central Library; the Guggenheim-Hermitage Museum in Las Vegas; the Dee and Charles Wyly Theatre at the Dallas Center for the Performing Arts; and the Annenberg Center for Information Science & Technology at California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA.

REX was formed in 2000 by Joshua Prince-Ramus, who served as Principal-in-Charge on the above-mentioned buildings. Before establishing REX, he was a project architect at OMA in Rotterdam and played a key design role in the firm’s U.S. work: Universal Headquarters Building in Hollywood, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, and the 1997 MoMA Competition. He also participated in the New York Times’-sponsored “Downtown Study Group” to provide an alternative proposal for the World Trade Center site.

Alice Gray Stites is managing director of the contemporary arts institution at the center of Museum Plaza. Alice has over 15 years of experience in the contemporary art world. Since 1995, she has been an independent consultant and curator, organizing exhibitions of contemporary art at The Speed Art Museum, the University of Kentucky Art Museum, and at 21c Museum Hotel. Representative exhibitions include The Body in Question, Mary Ann Currier: Contemplating the Contemporary Still Life, and Hybridity: The Evolution of Species and Spaces in 21st-Century Art.

Architect of Record:
Kendall/Heaton Associates, Inc.

Environmental Artist & Sculptor:
Ned Kahn

General Contractor:
Mortenson

Graphic Design Consultants:
Pentagram Design

Graphics & Wayfinding:
Sagmeister Inc. and Mijksenaar Arup

Hotel Design:

Simeone Deary Design Group

Landscape Architects:
Royston Hanamoto Alley & Abbey

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