New housing development proposed by church 'addressing need' in west Louisville

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- A new housing development is being led by a church in west Louisville.

Renaissance on Broadway is a planned 55-unit housing development at 4422 West Broadway proposed by Christ Temple Christian Life Center, also known as Christ Temple Apostolic Church. The four-story building is planned to have 18 one-bedroom and 37 two-bedroom apartments, with rent set at 30, 50 and 60% of area median income.

The project led by Louisville architecture firm Luckett & Farley also plans to include offices, activity rooms, an exercise center, a coin operated laundry facility, a community garden and playground.

Michael Reed, Business Manager at Christ Temple Christian Life Center, said the congregation wanted to address a need in the community.

"Just the opportunity to be a developer in the community that you spend a lot of time in, that is one of the major things for us, just to be able to give back to the community," Reed said. "There's a huge need for affordable housing, and so we came up with this project. It's not just affordable housing, this is a high-end type of building."

Renaissance on Broadway rendering 2.JPG — Rendering for Renaissance on Broadway. *(Photo courtesy of Luckett & Farley)*

While the building provides housing, the church also envisions it being used as a community center to offer programming, host events and "be a bridge" to help people become successful. Christ Temple Christian Life Center runs Children Against Negativity (CAN) camps and helps host Master Builders Academy.

A partnership with Toyota will allow for a car-sharing program, according to Reed. There will be four electric cars available for anyone in the community to use.

"If you're a tenant or even if you live in this community, you can rent the car for a day," Reed said. "If you don't have a vehicle and you need to rent a vehicle for a day, it's a part of it."

The project is rooted in local connections.

Christ Temple Christian Life Center partnered with BWI, LLC, an Indiana real estate development company owned by Gary Hobbs. Now living in Indianapolis, Hobbs is from west Louisville.

"He was raised here and went to church, we were Boys Scouts here at this church at the same time," Reed said. "His company has helped us with this project."

"Being able to see a Black developers doing a project in their own community, it's phenomenal because from an equity standpoint, I think there's an under-representation in the amount of Black developers who are able to do things at any kind of scale," John Mays, Vice President of Master Builders Academy, said.

The project is also receiving funding from the Louisville Affordable Housing Trust Fund. Louisville Metro Council allocated more than $106 million toward the creation and preservation of affordable housing during Mayor Greg Fischer's administration, according to Caitlin Bowling, a spokesperson for the Louisville Forward economic development agency.

"There is a significant need for affordable housing in neighborhoods across our city," Bowling said.

The designs for the building include meeting rooms, along with a second-floor patio that faces Broadway. Although the building is four stories and 47-feet tall, Reed said only the first three floors can be seen from Broadway, with the fourth floor sitting further back on the property.

"The way it was laid out was understated to make sure it blends well," Mays said. "The architect, Luckett and Farley, did a really good job of tying the historical aspects of the area, and making it feel like it was just a part of this area."

Renaissance on Broadway is being proposed at a historic site in west Louisville.

The 65,000-square-foot building would be built between 44th and 45th streets, where the Peter C. Doehoefer House previously sat. It's now a vacant lot.

An emergency demolition order was issued in 2016 for the Peter C. Doerhoefer House after it was in danger of collapse. The city placed fencing around the property, and last year, the wrecking permit was issued for the building.

The house built in 1908 in the Chickasaw neighborhood was on the National Register of Historic Places and has been designated a local historic landmark.

Christ Temple Apostolic Church purchased the property in 1974, but stopped using it in 2002. The church tried to demolish the deteriorating building in 2010, but a petition to the Landmarks Commission led to the building being designated as an Individual Landmark.

Historic Preservation Specialist Bradley Fister recommended the certification of appropriateness be approved if the development pays for a historic marker near the property that commemorates the Peter C. Doerhoefer House within one year. It was approved during an Individual Landmarks Architectural Review Committee Meeting on May 25.

Fister said the applicant will also "Individually Landmark the remaining Doerhoefer House," which is the Basil Doerhoefer House, next to proposed development.

The property is zoned for both R-5 (single family residential district) and R-7 (multi-family residential district), but Christ Temple Christian Life Center is in the process of rezoning.

Reed said the project hopes to break ground at the end of September or October. He estimated the project could be completed in anywhere between 10 to 13 months.

"We look at this as just the beginning," Reed said. "It's the first step of getting out there ... It's not like an outside developer who comes in, and they put this in and then go off, and then they sell it down the road. It's right here on our campus."