LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Another new hotel gets the green light for construction in downtown Louisville.
There will be a tax incentive for the developer, but there's also an agreement that extends benefits to the neighbors.
"The Dream Hotel is a great one to go out on. It's a $100 million project," Mayor Greg Fischer said.
The hotel will stretch from 811-823 West Main Street, neighboring the Frazier Museum and across from the Louisville Slugger Museum.
The developer, 8MAIN LLC, asked for tax increment financing, which would kick a majority of property tax revenue back to the developer over a 20-year period.
"Which would cap the maximum at incentive for the developer at $6.3 million," Jeff O'Brien, with Louisville Forward, said.
Metro Council approved the TIF, along with a binding community benefits agreement between the Downtown Residents Association and 8MAIN.
The company is required to do more than most developers of other projects, and has agreed to use good faith efforts to recruit and hire prospective employees from surrounding neighborhoods.
Councilman Jecorey Arthur, D-4, sponsored the ordinance, which was first passed out of committee earlier this month.
"Targeted job fairs, hiring locals in construction phase, and also periodic job fairs throughout the project's life," Arthur said in a prior meeting.
Those hired are set to make no less than $16 an hour.
The Downtown Residents Association can use hotel meeting areas a certain amount, and the company will donate $1,500 annually to the neighborhood association.
The company is also asked to work with area nonprofits to donate excess food, and the CBA goes beyond wasted meals.
"So what we were able to negotiate with this hotel is that they wouldn't get rid of gently used furniture," Arthur said. "They wouldn't store it somewhere to collect dust. They wouldn't send it to another hotel across the country. They would keep it right here and give it to the residents who live in Louisville, and who need it, who get housing and need furniture. So I was really proud of that."
The company will also work with other hotels to make sure that vacant rooms can be used for emergency shelters.
"I'm thinking, going forward, this is the expectation. Developers are put on notice that if you want benefits from the city, you need to give benefits back to the city," Arthur said. "And those benefits will look different depending on what neighborhood you're in or depending on what the needs are of the council district or the city at that time. But I'm excited about it, because it really helps create a better relationship going forward. It helps them get to know the neighborhood that they're going to come into. And it helps the neighbors get to know that development in that project."
The Downtown Neighborhood Residents Association released a statement to WDRB News:
"Our downtown has a bright future ahead in 2023 and we look forward to working with Mayor Greenberg and his administration. Downtown is everybody’s neighborhood. We have people raising families in our downtown, pet owners, empty nesters and a diverse workforce. That’s why we’re prioritizing neighborhood amenities that matter to downtown residents – a grocery store, a dog park and more 24/7 entertainment options. More people being in our downtown benefits all of downtown. Louisville is a very desirable hotel market nationally and will continue to be because we have so much to offer. We look forward to partnering with the Dream Hotel developers and like-minded developers who share in the vision of a downtown that makes residents a key focus."
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