Virginia Main Street is pleased to announce that the keynote speaker for the 2011 Milestone Awards will be nationally recognized sustainable preservation expert Jean Carroon, FAIA, LEED AP. Ms. Carroon’s focus on the renovation and adaptive reuse of existing buildings has culminated in a portfolio of award-winning civic, institutional, and religious structures, many of which are landmark buildings.

Ms. Carroon’s book, Sustainable Preservation: Greening Existing Buildings (available from Wiley Books), takes a nuanced look at the hundreds of choices that adaptive reuse requires architects to make—from ingenious ways to redeploy existing structural elements to time-honored techniques for natural ventilation. Additionally, the book provides case studies of 50 successful sustainable preservation projects.

Virginia Main Street is also pleased to announce that The Honorable Mary Rae Carter, Virginia Deputy Secretary of Commerce and Trade for Rural Economic Development, will speak at the luncheon, discussing  the role of downtown revitalization in regional and state economic strategies.

The Milestone Awards luncheon will be held March 31 at Richmond’s Jefferson Hotel. In addition to Ms. Carroon’s presentation, it will include the presentation of Milestone Awards, celebrating private investment and volunteer contributions in the commonwealth’s 21 Designated Main Street Communities.

Invite your downtown leaders and building code specialists to attend this informative talk and annual Main Street celebration. Online registration will be posted soon at www.dhcd.virginia.gov/mainstreet.