$175 million upscale hotel project calls for new 27-story tower in downtown Louisville

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- A 27-story hotel project is planned for a prominent corner in downtown Louisville, complete with a grand ballroom, rooftop pool and street-level restaurant.

NuLu-based Zyyo confirmed Tuesday its plans to build the tower at 2nd and Market streets, taking over the site of the former EMW Women's Surgical Center next to the Kentucky International Convention Center.

The project is called One Forty West, Zyyo founder and CEO Nick Campisano said Tuesday.

The project calls for an upscale 300-room hotel with a 6,000-square-foot rooftop bar and a pool. A 7,500-square-foot restaurant is planned for the first floor, and more than 12,000 square feet of ballroom and meeting space is planned on the second floor.

"We need more hotel space," said Karen Lovett, a Louisvillian who's lived in the city since 1971. "The more hotel space we've got, the more people we can bring in and the more it encourages the economy."

Lovett was downtown Wednesday with her family as they were visiting from out of town. She said downtown is an area she frequently brings guests and she's excited to learn about plans for another new hotel.

"We've always said Louisville is a big small town, and so maybe if we begin to think that we're a bigger town, we'll attract more conferences and more tourists and everything," she said. "I think it's a fabulous idea."

Right across the street on West Market, Zyyo is in the process of completing the new new six-story Canopy by Hilton hotel, a $60 million project that will have 168 rooms and be done later this year.

"The confidence that this shows of a developer to have something going up right across the street and saying, 'We need more,'" said Rebecca Fleischaker, executive director of Louisville Downtown Partnership. "So he knows that there is this demand, and I think we all understand that this demand means that more people will be in downtown and there will be more space for people staying in downtown. And it does bring larger conventions."

In a statement, Mayor Craig Greenberg also supported the plans.

"This would be awesome. There are many exciting developments coming to Downtown Louisville, from new restaurants, hotels, distilleries and now a proposed mixed-use tower in the heart of the city on Market Street. I look forward to seeing progress on all these projects as downtown continues to be a vibrant and energetic neighborhood for everyone."

Campisano said Zyyo is scheduled to officially acquire the former EMW property in September. Groundbreaking is scheduled for 2026, with the project set to open in 2028.

Louisville Development News: