SOPHISTICATED STAY
THE BELLWETHER Written by Bridget Williams / Photography courtesy of The Bellwether/Lemonade PR
Neighborhoods need champions and bullhorns. Anyone can cite flaws and shortcomings, but it takes people willing to walk the talk and put ideas into action to elicit true and meaningful change. Louisville's Highlands neighborhood is lucky to have Ben Botkins and Sarah Mattingly among its most prominent proponents. As a long-time resident of the eclectic and historic community, Ben is known to use his social media platform to rail against excessive speeding, litter, crime, and unkempt properties and cite case studies of successful revitalization initiatives in other cities. Ben and Sarah have shown they're going all-in on the Highlands with their latest endeavor—The Bellwether— a 20-room apartmentstyle boutique hotel on Bardstown Road. Ben said that he learned from looking at other cities that a critical step in revitalizing a block is starting at the corner and working in from there. A pair of century-old derelict buildings, one of which housed a police station and the other built by Bell South, fit the bill. Even after sitting empty for more than a decade, Ben 72 slmag.net
saw the latent potential in this prime piece of real estate located on the 1300 block of Bardstown Road. Working in partnership with Sarah and Sean and Annie O'Leary, they purchased the properties in 2019 and immediately got to work restoring the buildings. As owners of Parkside Bikes and 26 Airbnb properties in the city, Ben and Sarah have unique vantage points on the city's short-term rental market and took a hands-on approach to the renovation. Sarah provided the vision for the interior design, and Ben served as the general contractor. Sarah joked that they almost felt the need for an armored truck to transport sheets of plywood from the hardware store to the job site in this era of supply-chain issues. Zeroing in on the building's heyday, the 1920s, there is a palpable Art Deco vibe throughout, tempered with clean lines and mid-century touches that provide a fresh take on familiar motifs. They were careful to buy local as much as possible, sourcing lighting, furniture, and fixtures from Alcott & Bentley, No Director Home, and Blue Ocean Traders.
