LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) — A property in Louisville's Smoketown neighborhood is gearing up for some major renovations, according to our partners at Louisville Business First.
The two-story building, located at 706 E. Broadway near the intersection of downtown and the Highlands, is being renovated into two retail spaces for health care tenants and mid-term rental apartments for travel nurses, the building's owners Fred Newman and Raphael Collazo told LBF.
The first-floor spaces will be occupied by sexual health nonprofit Solutions Health and specialized-care pharmacy Genoa Healthcare.
Each space in about 2,805 square feet. The building was previously home to Fashion Mart.
Newman said first-floor renovations include new plumbing, a shell buildout, new storefront glass and exterior paint. The improvements are expected to cost between $300,000 and $400,000.
Work already began on the Solutions Health space, and renovations for Genoa Healthcare are expected to begin in the coming weeks. The tenants are anticipated to move in by late summer.
The owners plan to convert the second-floor into eight mid-term rental apartments — four one-bedroom and four two-bedroom units — aimed at travel nurses and other health care providers. The property is within walking distance of the LouMed district, including Norton Children’s Hospital, UofL Health Hospital and Norton Hospital.
A timeline and cost for the second-floor renovations have not yet been determined, according to LBF.
Collazo, president of Summit Commercial Group, and Newman purchased the building in September for $450,000, according to a deed filed with the Jefferson County Clerk’s Office.
The pair said projects like this could help connect Smoketown and the Highlands to downtown while bringing more activity to the East Broadway corridor.
They added future projects could follow, depending on the success of this redevelopment.
"We really believe in the Broadway corridor and we look forward to continuing to work our way along to different buildings in this area to continue to improve them," Collazo said. "Hopefully, we can make this a connection point to all the development going on near 4th Street."
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