Louisville, Kentucky · 200 Park Place · Est. 1925
We're the Mattesons — a family who found a 100-year-old AME church on the edge of demolition. We're fighting to save it, restore it, and give it a new life as a home and a landmark.
The buyer has approval to demolish. Every dollar brings us closer to stopping that — and beginning the restoration.
We didn't go looking for a church. The church found us. My wife and I were driving through Jeffersonville one afternoon when we passed it — sitting quiet on a corner, windows still intact, that old stone holding a century of Sunday mornings. A handwritten note on the door said it was slated to be torn down.
We couldn't let that happen. Not because we're wealthy developers, not because we have a grand restoration empire — but because some buildings are too important to be rubble. This one is a piece of African American history in Louisville. It belongs to this community.
"We want our kids to grow up in a place that taught people how to keep going — even when the whole world said they couldn't."
Our plan is to restore the church with deep respect for its architecture and history, convert it into our family's primary home on the upper level, and thoughtfully develop the ground floor as a short-term rental and event space — so it becomes self-sustaining and continues to serve the neighborhood.
The current owner of 200 Park Place received demolition approval in late 2024. The plan: tear down the 1925 structure and replace it with generic residential units. No landmark designation. No community input. No preservation review.
We learned about the timeline almost by accident — a neighbor mentioned the work crews had already begun clearing the lot next door. We had weeks, maybe days, to change the outcome.
We put in an offer. The owner accepted — conditionally. To close, we need to secure enough funding to purchase the property and begin Phase 1 stabilization before the demolition order is executed.
The order is on file. Work can begin as soon as we do not secure the purchase. There is no extension and no second chance.
200 Park Place was built in 1925 as a home congregation for Black families in Jeffersonville — one of the few spaces in southern Indiana where the African American community could gather, worship, mourn, celebrate, and organize freely during the era of Jim Crow segregation.
For decades, it served as more than a church. It was a civic anchor — hosting voter registration drives, community meals, and a generation of local musicians, preachers, and civil rights voices.
The church is established as an African Methodist Episcopal (AME) congregation, one of the first Black-led institutions in Clark County, Indiana.
The church hosts civil rights organizing meetings, voter registration drives, and community gatherings that shape the neighborhood for generations.
As the surrounding neighborhood shifts, the congregation eventually relocates — but the building endures, largely intact and structurally sound.
A private buyer receives demolition approval. The 100-year-old building faces its most serious threat. The Matteson family learns of the timeline and acts.
With your help, the Mattesons purchase the property and begin a two-phase restoration honoring the church's past while giving it a thriving future.
The Jeffboat shipyard — one block away — is at the center of the largest redevelopment project in Clark County history. That rising tide makes preservation at 200 Park Place not just meaningful, but urgent.
Jeffboat redevelopment investment projected for the surrounding district
Distance from 200 Park Place to the Jeffboat redevelopment boundary
Of history at risk of being erased just as the neighborhood reinvents itself
As Jeffersonville becomes a destination — new restaurants, boutique hotels, arts spaces — the historic character of streets like Park Place is exactly what gives the area its soul. New development without preserved roots is just construction.
A restored church turned family home and short-term rental at 200 Park Place positions itself at the heart of that story — as a cultural landmark, an authentic lodging experience, and proof that community-led preservation can anchor a neighborhood's identity as it evolves.
We're not flipping this building. We're restoring it with intention — preserving its bones, honoring its history, and giving it a sustainable future rooted in community.
We're not developers. We're not preservationists by profession. We're a family from Louisville who fell in love with a building and its story — and decided that love was worth acting on.
We have deep roots in this region. We understand what it means for a community to watch its history get demolished block by block. We are committed to being the stewards this building deserves — to live in it, care for it, and share it with anyone who wants to experience a piece of what this corner of Indiana once was.
This campaign is our public promise: we will do right by this church, by this neighborhood, and by everyone who puts their trust and dollars into this effort.
We're offering two tracks — donations and short-term loans. Both come with real perks, and every dollar is honored with transparency and gratitude.
Your name in the digital restoration journal. Email updates as the project unfolds. You're part of this story.
Donor PerkName on our permanent donor recognition wall inside the restored church. Invitation to our virtual walkthrough event.
Donor PerkAll above perks, plus a signed print of the church's original architectural drawings (or our restoration rendering). Handwritten thank-you from the family.
Donor PerkFull principal repayment upon project completion. Donor recognition wall. Annual restoration update letter. Priority consideration for rental bookings.
Loan PerkFull repayment + one complimentary stay at the restored rental space (up to 3 nights). Named sponsorship of a specific restoration element (e.g., stained glass window).
Loan PerkFull repayment + two complimentary stays. Permanent cornerstone recognition on the building exterior. Invitation to the private reopening ceremony. First-name basis with history.
Loan PerkPublic launch. Perks available. First wave of community supporters onboarded.
Purchase contract executed. Demolition order halted. Phase 1 begins immediately.
Structural work, roof, windows. Historic landmark filing submitted. Site photos shared with supporters.
Family moves in. Short-term rental launches. Reopening ceremony for the community. Loans begin repayment.
We know this takes trust. If we do not successfully purchase the property — for any reason — every loan is returned in full. No exceptions, no fine print, no drama. We are asking you to believe in this project, and we are holding ourselves completely accountable to that belief.
Donor contributions are non-refundable per standard crowdfunding terms, but loans are 100% protected. All terms documented in writing upon commitment.
Whether you give $25 or lend $10,000 — you become part of a story a hundred years in the making. And you'll have a seat at the table when the doors open again.
Not ready to donate? Sign our community petition to preserve 200 Park Place. Signatures go directly to the Clark County Historic Preservation office and city council.
Signature Recorded
Thank you for standing with us. We'll be in touch as the restoration unfolds.