Downtown area Louisville projects land $100 million in Kentucky spending bill

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) – Kentucky budget negotiators earmarked $100 million for key downtown area Louisville projects and set aside more than $46 million for University of Louisville initiatives in a massive spending bill lawmakers approved Thursday night.

The version of House Bill 1 hammered out by General Assembly leaders in the hours before adjourning for a two-week break distributes $50 million annually over the next two years to Louisville Metro government for six high-profile projects.

Those include the Belvedere, which Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg wants to overhaul; the city’s Community Care Campus for the homeless; the LOUMED medical district campus; Louisville Gardens, which would be repurposed into a media soundstage; swaths of vacant lots downtown; and the Butchertown Sports District, where the owners of Louisville’s professional soccer teams have promised additional development.

The bill, a budget measure making one-time appropriations from the state’s budget reserve trust fund, passed the GOP-dominated Senate and House of Representatives Thursday and now heads to Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear’s desk.

Some critics of the bill took issue with a quick vote on the last day that the legislature can pass bills and maintain the ability to override a potential veto, as well as with certain projects at the expense of others.

But speaking on the House floor, Rep. Tina Bojanowski (D-Louisville) called the bill “an amazing, historic investment in our state.”

She calculated the overall amount dedicated to Louisville as $187.1 million over the next two years.

“This investment is going to be, pardon the pun, epic,” Bojanowski said. “It will have accumulating effects that increase our economy and provide jobs for people who live in our community, and I'm most grateful.”

Greenberg, a Democrat in his first term, told reporters at Lynn Family Stadium earlier this month that the $100 million earmark would fund “transformative downtown projects.” While that amount was less than half the amount the mayor sought from the legislature, he said the money would “help get these projects going.”

The owners of Louisville City FC and Racing Louisville promised more widespread development on the site, but that has yet to happen. WDRB News reported in early 2023 on how the initial development plans had changed, while property tax revenues meant to reimburse Metro government for its upfront investment in the project were lagging well behind expectations.

Greenberg couldn’t say whether the stadium-area money would be used for public investments at the site or subsidize privately-led development anticipated there. “Some of that still has to be worked out,” he said, adding that it’s a “challenging site” that includes an old rail line and sections in a floodplain.

In addition to the urban Louisville projects, the legislation also directs $25 million to U of L for cancer research, screening and educational programs at the Center for Rural Cancer Education and Research; $10 million for the university’s cybersecurity program; $10.6 million for U of L’s Kentucky Manufacturing Extension Partnership; and $900,000 for the university’s Rural Dental Outreach Program.

Among other investments, the bill gives $4.3 million to Louisville Orchestra operations and programing and $4 million to the Waterfront Botanical Gardens. Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport would get $5 million, and Goodwill Industries’ Opportunity Campus in western Louisville would receive $3 million.