It’s the time of year when Oakland Heritage Alliance (OHA) turns its attention to recognizing those whose work and efforts have demonstrated a commitment to excellence in historic preservation.

OHA is now seeking nominations of individuals, organizations, projects, and programs for their 2008 Partners in Preservation Awards. Nominations must be postmarked by April 21.

The winners will be honored during an awards ceremony on May 8 at Chapel of the Chimes, 4499 Piedmont Avenue (map).

OHA’s Partners in Preservation awards go back 15 years and have recognized the outstanding efforts of residents, property owners, architects, developers, and organizations to protect and preserve Oakland’s cultural and architectural heritage.

If you have been involved in, or know of, such work completed in the past five years, OHA encourages you to submit a nomination. All the details can be found at OHA’s Partners in Preservation Awards page on their website.

Nominations will be accepted in eight categories:

• Adaptive use/rehabilitation: Conversion of a historic structure for a new or compatible use while retaining its architectural integrity
• Advocacy: An effective local or statewide campaign to save a historic resource
• Education: An innovative program, publication, or media tool that communicates the value of historic preservation to the general public
• Lifetime achievement: A professional or volunteer who has contributed to the preservation movement over the length of their career
• New construction: Sensitive new design project built within a historic context
• Leadership: An individual, municipality, private organization, or joint partnership that has championed historic preservation, planning, or public policy
• Restoration: Removing incompatible alterations and reconstructing missing elements to reflect a building’s historic appearance in a given era
• Stewardship: Thoughtful maintenance and/or continued use of a historic resource by its owner(s).

Projects in the Lake Merritt area have been past recipients of PIP awards. For example, last year Marles and Jay Patterson were recognized for their careful restoration of the Kaiser House on Haddon Hill. Also that year, an award was given for the renovation of the Lake Merritt Pergola and Colonnade.

The Oakland Heritage Alliance is a non-profit membership organization that advocates the protection, preservation, and revitalization of Oakland’s architectural, historic, and cultural resources. For more information about the nominating process or OHA in general contact Chela Zitani, OHA’s Administrative Director, at (510) 763-9218 or info@oaklandheritage.org.