LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- A prominent downtown Louisville office tower is losing its main tenant, adding to the glut of available office space in the central business district.
Louisville Gas & Electric, the investor-owned utility, will give up 14 floors in the building that bears its name, LG&E Center, at 220 W. Main St. in 2025 when its lease is up, a spokeswoman for the company told WDRB News.
The utility has occupied the 24-story tower across from the KFC Yum! Center since 1990, LG&E spokeswoman Chris Whelan said.
LG&E’s plan was first reported by Louisville Business First on Friday.
LG&E will consolidate its downtown presence into the building it owns at 820 W. Broadway, which already houses about 600 employees involved in customer service, a call center and operations. A little shy of 200 people work at LG&E Center, including some employees dedicated to LG&E sister company Kentucky Utilities, Whelan said.
The utility explored downsizing into a smaller space at LG&E Center but ultimately decided "it was no longer cost-effective to continue to operate that facility," Whelan said.
"We obviously did not want to abandon downtown, and that is why we are investing $10 million in the Broadway building," Whelan said, referring to planned renovations of 820 W. Broadway.
Louisville’s central business district suffered from rising office vacancies before the pandemic due corporate consolidation, technological changes and other factors. COVID-19 and the broad acceptance of remote work accelerated that trend.
About 24% of the move-in-ready "Class A" office space in downtown Louisville was vacant as of mid-2023, according to latest quarterly report from real estate brokerage JLL.
Whelan said LG&E hopes to spur economic development in the Broadway corridor at the south end of downtown.
"We continue to be dedicated to downtown and especially that to that area," she said.
