Louisville's Mid City Mall on Bardstown Road goes up for sale

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- The Mid City Mall on Bardstown Road is formally for sale, according to a real estate listing posted online Thursday morning.

The roughly 11-acre site is home to businesses such as Comedy Caravan and Baxter Avenue Theatres, as well as a branch of the Louisville Free Public Library.

Craig Collins, senior director of investment/retail services at Cushman & Wakefield Commercial Kentucky, said the property's owners have been approached by interested buyers in the past. None of those efforts panned out.

"This is a public acknowledgment that the property is officially for sale," Collins told WDRB News. "We have been speaking to development companies from around the country as well as locally about what we see as a vision for this property."

"We just thought it would be good to broadcast it more broadly to make sure we get interested users and developers to the table," he said.

The site is now owned by the Bardstown Road Investment Co. and the David A. Metts Irrevocable Term Trust. It is assessed for tax purposes at $11.4 million.

There is no current asking price.

Diannea Comstock, managing partner of the Comedy Caravan, said she wasn't aware of the listing until informed by a reporter. She said she previously was told by the ownership group that it had been fielding offers for decades but "hadn't found anything that suited the neighborhood."

Comstock, who owns the club with her husband, Kerry, emphasized that no deal is in place and the venue remains open.

"We're still going to do business as usual until told otherwise," she said. "I mean, that's kind of the only thing I can say."

Collins said the property could be developed with a mix of uses -- such as housing and retail -- that keeps some of the current tenants. He said Metro government has made clear that it wants to keep the Highlands-Shelby Park library branch, while the movie theater also wants to stay.

"We're going to take our time and try to pick the right development that would be impactful and everyone would be proud of," he said.

The Tyler Park Neighborhood Association has been closely watching plans for the site, even forming a Mid City Mall committee several years ago, said Helene Kramer Longton, the association president.

There are differing opinions about what neighbors would like to see in a redevelopment, including the types of businesses and the size of any residential buildings.

Kramer Longton said neighborhood residents and the association board are most concerned about the potential loss of the library, the Valu Market supermarket and the theater.

"Neighbors are really, really worried that we won’t have a library that’s so convenient, so accessible if this propriety is developed," she said.

"Whatever form the new development takes, folks want a library to be on that property."