Preserving the Past, Inspiring the Future: Woodard Van Riper Family Foundation Fuels Indiana Landmarks’ Mission

May 2025

Indianapolis businessman Turner Woodard is energized by taking historic places built for one purpose and adapting them to something new, something that preserves their spirit while injecting vitality into the areas they occupy. He credits his love for historic places and passion for adaptive reuse to his mother, Edna Woodard-Van Riper, leading to a decades-long relationship with Indiana Landmarks. The commitment to historic preservation extends to his entire family including his wife Diann and children Taylor, “TJ” and Whitney.

In 1993, Woodard saved Indianapolis’s 400,000-square foot former Stutz automotive factory from the wrecking ball and pioneered its reuse as a small business incubator—a new concept at the time— attracting artists, furniture makers, lawyers, and technology companies as tenants. The model proved sustainable, and, assured that the landmark factory’s future was secure, he sold a majority stake in the property to developer SomeraRoad in 2021 for the company to continue to invest in the landmark for use as offices and a cultural center.

In 2021, Woodard purchased Carmel’s ’70s-era former Rich Furniture building on Rangeline Road to rehabilitate it as a boutique office and retail space, expanding the approach he applied at the Stutz further north. The building also houses Woodard’s own business operations, an art gallery, and part of his automobile collection.

Woodard followed in his mother’s footsteps in offering his expertise as a member of Indiana Landmarks’ board of directors. He and Diann, both longtime Indiana Landmarks members, served as honorary patron chairs for the grand opening of Indiana Landmarks Center in 2011, helping to celebrate adaptive reuse of a historic church as our statewide headquarters and raising money for our work around the state. He admires the expertise of Indiana Landmarks’ staff and partnership with local preservation groups to ensure special places statewide are saved for the future.

The Woodard Van Riper Family Foundation, led by Turner Woodard, recently deepened its long-standing support of Indiana Landmarks with a generous $100,000 donation honoring Landmarks’ past-president Marsh Davis, designating $25,000 of the gift as a matching grant at the Rescue Party, Indiana Landmarks’ annual fundraising benefit for endangered places. The announcement, presented by Turner’s son Turner John “TJ” Woodard, energized attendees and garnered contributions exceeding the match, boosting Indiana Landmarks’ ability to quickly intervene on behalf of threatened places.

“Preserving Indiana’s special and historically significant buildings and monuments is a must,” says Turner Woodard. “The passion for preservation must be a statewide mission and a grass roots initiative at the same time.”