LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- From outdoor concerts to movie nights, there's usually a lot going on in downtown Louisville. In fact, there's enough to do that Kevin Wood and his wife decided to move downtown.

"We ride (bikes) around all downtown, whether it's in NuLu or on the museum end, and we see all kinds of nice stuff," Wood said.

Wood's experience is one that Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg is trying to spread. He's asking people to come downtown for entertainment, work or even to live, bolstering the Central Business District after several years of uncertainty. 

"Certainly, we are encouraging all employers to bring their employees back, particularly if they're downtown," he said. "But we also understand the reality that the nature of work has changed."

Work-from-home was already on the rise in Louisville and nationally from 2010-19, according to Census data. About 5% of the workforce was home-based in 2019, up from about 3% a decade earlier. But then the COVID-19 pandemic hit in March 2020, forcing nearly everyone into that daily reality.

The vacancy rate for "Class A" has surged in recent years following the pandemic and corporate consolidation. The Class A vacancy rate in the central business district (downtown) Louisville was 24.5% in the first quarter of 2023, from 23.9% at the same time a year ago, according to real estate brokerage JLL.

Made with Flourish

That retreat from downtown hurts businesses trying to take advantage of the daily traffic. Katherine Harrod, who owns All Thai'd Up on 5th Street, said most of her customers worked in the city and came for lunch, but business dropped off after lunchtime.

"The city has an uphill battle with trying to get the locals to come back downtown," Harrod said this week. "And I think that's the biggest hurdle."

Harrod opened in February 2022, hoping it would help revive the area from the pandemic and the protests of 2020. But now, she's moving her business to east Louisville, saying crime and the homeless problem fueled her decision.

"We've had several threats to our staff and personnel while we were downtown," Harrod said.

Rebecca Fleischaker with the Louisville Downtown Partnership said some of the concern about crime is the result of misinformation.

"I do think people are listening to what they hear from their neighbors and may not have experienced it for themselves," she said. "I do think there's a lot of misperceptions about downtown simply because of what people are just saying and not coming to see."

Fleischker said there are dozens of events — like Food Truck Wednesdays — to help small businesses. But tourism can't support downtown on its own.

"We do need to have people come back to the office," she said.

Last month, Republic Bank and FORVIS both announced plans to relocate employees from their east Louisville offices to downtown. But Harrod is hoping the city will sweeten the pot.

"There's no incentive for a business to stay," she said. "There are other incentive programs for businesses to come but not for businesses to stay."

For a list of some of the upcoming events going on in downtown Louisville, click here.

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