The Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation presented 28 awards recognizing the best of preservation in Georgia during its 39^th annual Preservation Awards ceremony.

Ponce City Market in Atlanta received the Marguerite Williams Award, presented annually to the project that has had the greatest impact on preservation in the state.

Ponce City Market received the award in recognition of its sustainable rehabilitation. Formerly the Sears, Roebuck & Company Southeast distribution center and retail store, the two-million-square-foot nine-story building, the largest by volume in Georgia, was rehabilitated to include retail and office space, residential units, a central food hall and public outdoor spaces. The project, which included inspecting and rehabilitating all masonry features and the treatment of over 1,000 historic steel windows, leveraged over $50 million in rehabilitation tax credits, making it one of the largest preservation projects in the nation's history. The project kept the largest brick building in the Southeast out of a landfill and has served as a catalyst for rehabilitation in its vicinity.

The Trust also presented two awards for Excellence in Restoration, fourteen awards for Excellence in Rehabilitation, three awards for Sustainable Rehabilitation, two awards in Excellence in Preservation Service, three awards for Excellence in Stewardship, and one award for Excellence in Preservation.

The Trust presented the Camille W. Yow Volunteer of the Year Award to Grace Quinn of Atlanta. The Senator George Hooks Award was awarded to Sistie Hudson, former Georgia Representative and current chairman of the Hancock County Board of Commissioners. The Mary Gregory Jewett Award for Lifetime Preservation Service was given to Tony Aeck of the architecture firm Lord Aeck Sargent. Lane's End, a Neel Reid-designed home that was destroyed by fire and then reconstructed in Atlanta's Buckhead, received the Chairman's Award for Excellence in Preservation.

The Excellence in Restoration winners were: Hyde Farm in Cobb County and the Stone Tower at Fort Mountain State Park in Chatsworth.

Excellence in Rehabilitation winners were: Callanwolde Barn, Atlanta; 551 Cherry Street Lofts, Macon; Building D, Kennesaw State University, Kennesaw; Crawford Depot, Crawford; First National Bank, Fitzgerald; Habersham Mills Phase I, Demorest; Lamar Lofts, Macon; Lowrey Wagon Works, Augusta; Old First National Bank, Dublin; Old Newnan Hospital, University of West Georgia, Newnan; Philbrick-Eastman House, Savannah; Tattnall Square Center for the Arts, Macon; Thomson Depot, Thomson; and Tifton City Hall, Tifton.

Georgia Tech was recognized with two Excellence in Sustainable Rehabilitation Awards for the sustainable rehabilitation of the Chapin Building and Glenn and Towers Residence Halls.

Excellence in Preservation Service winners were: Henry D. Green Center and Symposium, Georgia Museum of Art, Athens; and James K. Reap, a leading preservation advocate, author and historic preservation professor at the University of Georgia, Athens.

Excellence in Stewardship winners were: Friends of Oconee Hill Cemetery for its stewardship of Oconee Hill Cemetery, Athens; the Hickey Family for its stewardship of the McHenry-Stokes House, Madison; and the Morrison Family for its stewardship of Lebanon Plantation, Savannah.

"This year's winners represent a tremendous dedication to restoring and revitalizing Georgia's historic buildings and communities," said Mark C. McDonald, president of The Georgia Trust.  "We are proud to honor such deserving projects and individuals."