Yum! Brands donating Louisville headquarters to JCPS for new central office

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Yum! Brands is donating its headquarters in Louisville to Jefferson County Public Schools.

In a news release Monday, the district said Superintendent Dr. Marty Pollio will recommend the Jefferson County Board of Education move its central office to the iconic "white house" campus on Gardiner Lane, just off Interstate 264.

The donation won't be official until the board meets to approve it Tuesday evening.

"This generous donation is a game-changer for JCPS. Our current administrative buildings require significant renovations that are cost-prohibitive," Pollio said in a statement. "This will allow us to consolidate several District buildings into one, allowing for stronger collaboration and communication."

JCPS said the Yum! Brands campus, located at 1441 Gardiner Lane, is 11.6 acres, including a pond and walking path. The campus has two office building — a three-story, 88,000-square-foot colonial revival-style building constructed in 1970 — nicknamed the "white house" due to its resemblance to the U.S. presidential residence — and a five-story, 225,000-square-foot office building constructed in 1986. The two buildings are connected, and share conference meeting space and a cafeteria.

David Gibbs, Chief Executive Officer of Yum! Brands, said in a statement that the donation reflects the company's commitment to education and opportunity.

"As we explore options for our Louisville headquarters, this moment created a unique opportunity to collaborate with JCPS," Gibbs said. "While we haven’t made a final decision on the exact location of our new Louisville offices, we’re evaluating several possibilities across the city and expect to determine the best path forward in the coming months."

Business leaders and workers downtown hope those remaining Yum! Brands employees end up in the central business district. Many pushed for JCPS to move its headquarters downtown as the area has struggled to bounce back from the COVID-19 pandemic.

"Yeah, we're disappointed JCPS isn't coming downtown, but we're working with some other companies and still trying to fill up these vacant spaces and we're seeing more feet on the street and more pedestrian activity," Rebecca Fleischaker, executive director of Louisville Downtown Partnership, said. "In the last year, we've seen 20 businesses come downtown."

Workers have said at times downtown Louisville can be ghost town, especially if there are no conferences or big events around.

"We'll take everybody we can get," Devon Crawley, who works at Sunergos Coffee, said. "The more people, the better. It really affects our business."

JCPS said the timing of any possible location is contingent on board approval to accept the donation.

In early June, Yum! Brands gave employees in Louisville a September deadline to decide if they will relocate to Plano, Texas.

The company announced in February plans to relocate around 100 corporate jobs in Louisville to the company's Plano office, combining the KFC Louisville headquarters with Pizza Hut's headquarters.

In April, WDRB reported Yum! Brands is spending about $7 million to relocate the KFC headquarters to Texas, with most of that money going toward employee severance benefits.

This is the second company in a year to donate a multimillion-dollar property to Louisville's public school system. Molina Healthcare donated the land from the stalled Passport Health plan headquarters building to pave way for a new middle school off 18th and Broadway.

Those donations could be a potential tax break for the companies. Pollio estimated the savings from moving central office staff into YUM headquarters would save the school system $40 million.

YUM! representatives declined to answer questions about any potential write offs after a press conference Monday afternoon. They also declined to speak during the event.

Yum! Brands employees face deadline for relocating to Texas headquarters