Luxury living in Milton
Richwood
Plantation
to open in September
By
Don Ward
Editor
MILTON, Ky. (Sept. 2003) – It has been slowly taking shape for more than a year. Finally, after months of carpentry, bulldozing, painting and plumbing, Bill Hysinger’s pet project, Richwood Plantation Bed & Breakfast, will open for business in mid-September. The large, white three-story house that sits majestically along Hwy. 36 overlooking the
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Photo by Don Ward Richwood
Plantation house. |
Ohio River has intrigued passing motorists and local residents
as they have watched the plantation’s slow restoration. Hysinger,
a commercial and residential developer from Simpsonville, Ky., has sunk
more money into the project than he is willing to disclose. But the
investment is apparent, just from looking around the grounds, the 16-stall
horse barn, the 16,000-square-foot indoor riding arena, in-ground swimming
pool, newly built carriage house and several outbuildings that have
been converted into luxurious corporate suites and cottages.
“The atmosphere we’re trying to create here is one of a southern,
genteel plantation,” said project manager Leon Bolin of Louisville.
Bolin, who has a long history of working on some of Hysinger’s
past projects, resides in the top floor apartment of the house while
it is being renovated. He personally designed a two-unit carriage house
that is connected to the eastern side of the house and features such
luxuries as whirlpool tubs, fireplaces and sensurround sound. And lots
of TVs.
“We will have a TV in every room, including the bath rooms,”
Bolin said during a recent tour of the property. The main floor of the
carriage house will actually house two horse-drawn carriages that Hysinger
recently purchased.
In all, Richwood Plantation will offer 13 rooms – five in the main
house – for family or corporate getaways, but some of the cottages
have been inhabited for nearly a year already by temporary employees
from nearby plants. Rooms will rent from $85 to $135, with some available
by the week.
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Photo by Don Ward Richwood Plantation stables. |
“There’s lots of possibilities here,” he said. “We’re just getting started.”
When Hysinger is in town visiting the property, he stays at his “Milton Hilton” riverside home across the road. His main home is on an 80-acre horse farm in Simpsonville. He has offices in Louisville, where he manages his real estate development companies, Leisure Homes and Icon Properties. He has residential developments on Hunsinger Lane in Louisville, Agin Way Estates and Rio Vista Apartments in Milton, and Timothy Trace Apartments and College Hills homes in Hanover, among others. Perhaps his biggest current commercial project is his partnership in the 615-room Marriott Hotel complex to be built in downtown Louisville adjacent to the Convention Center.
“Richwood is sort of a pet project for him,” Bolin said.
Melynda Johnson is the booking agent for the property from her office at Timothy Trace. “Richwood Plantation is a magnificent place; Bill has spared no expense there to make it upscale and memorable to the guests who stay there,” she said.
Hysinger bought the property in August 2001 from Jim and Virginia Long. Jim and his previous wife, Irene, had purchased the property in 1992. The couple spent nearly a half million dollars to remodel the 6,300-square-foot, 16-room house and its 11 outbuildings, Long said during a January 2000 interview. Irene died the following year, and Long continued to live in the five-bedroom, four-bath, Italianate home. In 1995, he married his late wife’s cousin, Virginia. The Longs then decided to sell the place and move to Lexington, Ky.
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Photo by Don Ward Melynda Johnson and Leon Bolin. |
The barns were once used as a girls’ riding school. And the place is rumored to have been a stop on the Underground Railroad.
The previous owner, the late Dick White, built a boat landing on the river down in front of the house, but flooding took it out. Hysinger is considering building a new boat dock there to welcome guests.
• Richwood Plantation is located at 1233 Hwy. 36. For information, call Johnson at (812) 866-8636 or visit: www.richwoodplantation.com.