Development plans call for Louisville's Mid City Mall to be demolished

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Louisville's Mid City Mall on Bardstown Road is on track to be demolished to make way for a new development.

The Mid City Market project will likely feature a Publix grocery store and five retail buildings, but no residential building, according to our partners at Louisville Business First.

Plans also include more greenspace and an increase in pedestrian walkways through a 25% reduction in parking, which is more than 100 spaces. The library inside the Mid City Mall is also expected to stay and be moved to a building on the Beechwood Avenue side of the new development.

Mid City Market (rendering) — A rendering of the proposed "Mid City Market" development between Bardstown Road and Baxter Avenue in Louisville. *(Photo courtesy of Branch Properties)*

The family that owns the space is working with Atlanta-based developer Branch Properties. LBF reported 24 of the developer's 34 properties feature a Publix, though there has been no official confirmation that the Mid City Market development will include one.

More than 50 people who live in the Highlands were able to voice their opinions and get questions answered from a representative of Branch Properties during a Highlands Commerce Guild meeting via Zoom Wednesday morning.

"Mid City Mall has been a shopping location and a commercial location in the Highlands for a long time, and we anticipate it's going to continue to be that," Cliff Ashburner, with Branch Properties, said. "It's just going to be doing it with a more contemporary design, a safer design for pedestrians and a greener design."

Ashburner said plans call for the existing Mid City Mall building to be demolished by the end of 2026.

The developer said there will be a mix of local, regional and national businesses in the development once complete. It plans to open the development in early 2028.

The Mid City Mall has been for sale since November 2024. The site is currently 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.

Several businesses within Mid City Mall have already closed or moved. Ramen House Louisville moved to a location on Spring Street. The Nearly New Shop closed in September. The iconic Back Door Bar closed in May 2024, after the passing of longtime owner John Dant. Baxter Avenue Theatres closed at the end of 2025, citing the uncertain future of Mid City Mall.

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