LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Three years of growing uncertainty and speculation on the future of downtown Louisville has left many office buildings half-filled, restaurants hurting for more business and once-filled parking lots now sitting as empty city blocks without a purpose.

But the city has a plan to change that, announcing Wednesday its intention to redevelop eight plots of land downtown into housing, entertainment districts or other mixed-use projects.

This coming as the Louisville Downtown Partnership began the process of creating the city's next 10-year strategic plan, hosting meetings Thursday to hear what the people of Louisville would like to see most. 

"I love the kismet of it," Rebecca Fleischaker, executive director of the Louisville Downtown Partnership, said. "It wasn't done on purpose. It's 10 years since the last plan, so it's time." 

Fleischaker said on the heels of the pandemic and the racial justice protests in 2020 that, together, transformed downtown in lasting ways, it's time to put a fresh set of eyes on downtown planning.

Beyond attracting more downtown residents and improving safety, there was talk during the public meeting of adding more greenery and making things more pedestrian-friendly.

Louisville Downtown Partnership Meeting

Hosting meetings to hear what the people of Louisville would like to see most, the Louisville Downtown Partnership began the process Thursday. May 11, 2023. (WDRB Photo)

"It just has that kind of old-school character to it with all the old buildings," said John Crick, who lives downtown and attended Thursday's first meeting. "You have a ballpark here (and) you have bars, but it just needs a little bit more. A grocery store would be really nice here." 

According to the Louisville Downtown Partnership, 32 retail or restaurant businesses opened in downtown Louisville in 2022. During the same period, 22 closed. And so far in 2023, nine have opened, and five have closed.

The COVID-19 pandemic had a dramatic effect on traffic in the area. Reluctance to return to in-person work spaces downtown both kept people from returning to the area consistently and made operating a business there less reliable. Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg's plan is to turn underutilized spaces into "affordable and market-rate housing, hospitality, arts and entertainment, distilling/bourbon, commercial, grocery and/or mixed-use projects."

Downtown Louisville currently has 24 hotels and 10 distillery and tasting experiences, and Greenberg said the plan is to develop even more. 

The spaces, listed and illustrated below, include:

  • Louisville Civic Center, which has four sites, the Fiscal Court Building at 531 Court Place, the former LMPD headquarters at 225 South 7th Street, the Market Street Parking Garage at 536 West Market Street, the surface parking lots on the south side of Market Street between Sixth and Seventh streets
  • Main Street and Washington Street, which includes the vacant lot at the northeast corner of West Washington and North Seventh streets, the surface parking lot at the northwest corner of West Washington and North Seventh Streets, and the two lots at 615-621 W. Main Street
  • Mudd Lot located at the southeast corner of Jefferson and Ninth streets

Several of the plots are surface parking lots or parking garages, a sign the city plans to convert those areas — seeing less post-pandemic use given the decreased business traffic — into destinations that will entice more people to consistently visit the area.

"To redevelop a surface parking lot means that you're going to bring something to the space that didn't exist at all," said Fleischaker, executive director of the Louisville Downtown Partnership. "We've always had more surface parking than we needed."

The city has three Requests for Proposals open now, looking for development teams to come forward with ideas for the above properties. There is no timeline on when construction would begin on any project.

Fleischaker said it's a great time to see what people want for the next generation. But beyond those already invested in downtown, Fleischaker said she wants to hear specifically from people who don't visit downtown.

"How do we make them understand downtown is important for everybody?" she said. "No matter if you're here or not, everything generated downtown helps pay for services all across Louisville Metro. So it matters, no matter where you live." 

The Louisville Downtown Partnership says it will use the feedback they receive to help guide development plans over the next decade, as well as recommendations in policies and programs. 

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