LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- The Louisville Historical League wants Omni to modify plans for a pickleball development that would demolish the downtown Odd Fellows building.
The hotel company applied last week for a demolition permit as part of a $1.2 million project to add indoor and outdoor courts along Muhammad Ali Boulevard between 2nd and 3rd streets.
Razing the 19th century structure — also known as Liberty Hall — was included in Metro government's original deal with Omni in 2014. The preservation group spent years fighting those plans until the Kentucky Supreme Court in February upheld a Metro Council action that removed the building's landmark designation.
That decision paves the way for the demolition. While acknowledging that it has no more legal options, the league believes pickleball is the wrong fit for the site — especially given the city subsidies for the hotel.
The city issued bonds of $112 million to aid construction of the Omni, according to previous WDRB News reporting. The hotel opened in 2018.
"Metro Council wanted a significant project that would make demolition of this beautiful building more acceptable to us citizens who care for a vibrant downtown," said Steve Wiser, the league's president. "Pickleball courts are not an acceptable trade off to remove this landmark structure."
Wiser and his group believe the Omni project can be completed while saving the Odd Fellows building. "Let's do the right thing and repurpose Liberty Hall into this proposed development," Wiser said.
Rendering of a proposed pickleball complex near the Omni hotel (source: Louisville Metro government/Omni)
The matter now goes before the Downtown Development Review Overlay Committee, which must approve the demolition request. A public hearing is scheduled for 10 a.m. Sept. 10 at the Old Jail Building, 514 W. Liberty St.
If approved, the permit would be granted. No other vote is needed.
But at a press conference outside the Odd Fellows building on Tuesday, Wiser called on Mayor Craig Greenberg and the council to exert political pressure to change the Omni's plans.
He shared three pages of social media comments that appear to largely oppose the pickleball development.
Omni Louisville Hotel general manager Eamon O'Brien said in a statement that the hotel respects the historical league's preservation goals, but he noted the recent state high court decision and said officials are working under the original development agreement.
"From the start, our goal has been to create a space that activates this area and provides lasting benefits for both our guests and the Louisville community," O'Brien said. "While specific activation plans are still under review, our commitment remains to deliver a project that contributes to a vibrant downtown."
In its filing with city planners last week, Omni representatives said they can't move forward with designing the pickleball complex until completing environmental and other studies on the site that includes the Odd Fellows building.
Demolition is "an essential step before further development activities can proceed," according to the filing, construction would take at least five years, the document says.
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