Residents question city's plan to redevelop Watson Lane Elementary at public meeting

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) — The redevelopment of Watson Lane Elementary School would include subsidized housing for seniors, but it is the area around the school that has neighbors concerned.

Late Wednesday afternoon, workers were putting up new plywood on the front doors of the old Watson Lane elementary building.

The empty building has become an attractive playground for thieves and vandals since JCPS sold the building to the city about a year ago.

“We do not, I cannot stress this enough, we do not have any plan at this exact moment,” said Marilyn Harris with Louisville’s Office of Housing and Community Development.

On Wednesday night, Harris heard exactly what the neighbors do not want.

“We don't want any apartments over two stories,” one resident said.

“Who wants a towering thing in our neighborhood, it is right in the middle of our neighborhood,” said another resident.

The prevailing voice is in favor of single-story patio type homes and no rental units. The city is likely to include duplexes or townhomes in the overall development. Harris is charged with keeping the mayors' commitment to increase density and build thousands of low-income affordable homes.

“So what we want to see is a mix, we want to see a few low-income units and some market rate units and that is the mix, that is what we want to see,” Harris said.

The city will have to rezone the property, which could be a challenge if a bill passed by lawmakers in Frankfort banning local officials from changing land use rules is allowed to become law.