3 developers selected to reimagine 9 acres in downtown Louisville. Here's what we know
As part of a push to enliven 9 acres of city-owned land downtown, Louisville Metro Government has selected three developers it intends to work with to re-envision these spaces.
Louisville-based Poe Companies and Weyland Ventures, along with Dallas-based Lincoln Property Company, were chosen to move forward in the effort to turn the three downtown lots into more active, highly utilized spaces.
In May 2023, metro government issued “requests for qualifications,” formally seeking teams to indicate interest in redeveloping multiple downtown spaces, including the corner where the now-demolished Louisville Metro Police headquarters once stood, the Fiscal Court Building, and various vacant lots and surface parking.
Facing pandemic-influenced trends in office vacancy and longer-standing trends of limited downtown residential space, the city invited developers to pursue many possible future uses, including housing, retail, grocery, hospitality, and arts and entertainment.
"By redeveloping these city-owned lots, we will create new opportunities to engage Louisvillians and visitors and add to the vibrancy of our downtown," Mayor Craig Greenberg said in a statement Friday.
Metro government sought applicants with expertise in historic renovation and conversion as well as urban core development and mixed-use and public-private projects. Caitlin Bowling, spokeswoman for the city’s cabinet for economic development, said the three selected teams were picked "based on their qualifications, past experience, and proven ability to execute developments."
Submissions were due over the summer and the selected candidates were publicly announced Friday. Seven unique developers applied for at least one of the three re-development opportunities: Fischer's Real Estate Brokerage & Betterment Haus, Lincoln Property Company, Pennrose, Poe Companies, Re:land Group, Weyland Ventures and WorK Architecture + Design.
While specific developers are now selected, details on what they're planning are not yet required by the city.
These firms will now enter a “due diligence” phase during which they'll develop what they intend to do with the site along with a financing and construction plan, ultimately leading to a development agreement with metro government. Those plans are due in mid-2024.
Here's what we know about what's planned for the three downtown lots.
Louisville Civic Center
Developer: Weyland Ventures. Past historic renovation projects include Hancock House in Nulu, The Henry Clay, the Glassworks building, The Edison Center in Old Louisville, and The Myriad Hotel in the Highlands.
Where: This site is made up of four locations: the Fiscal Court Building, 531 Court Place; the former LMPD headquarters, 225 S. Seventh St.; the Market Street parking garage, 536 W. Market St.; and surface parking lots along Market Street between Sixth and Seventh streets.
What's planned: Mariah Gratz, CEO of Weyland Ventures, said she's first looking at the feasibility of converting the Fiscal Court Building from office to residential use. Such a project would require state and federal historic tax credits, she said.
“We’ve been downtown for a long time," she told the Courier Journal. "I love downtown Louisville. And being able to be a part of what will hopefully be a signature redevelopment is very exciting."
As for the other parcels, Gratz said she's still considering many possibilities and will narrow them based on market studies, financing limitations and other factors.
"Five to 10 years ago, a large portion of the project would be office, but office is not something we want a strong portion of now," she said. "In our mind, it’s figuring out the right mix of uses that creates activity down, which is what downtown needs right now,"
Why is it being redeveloped: Use only for government services “hinders the area’s vitality,” the city said in its development solicitation, noting it doesn't need or was underutilizing the spaces.
What does the city want for the space: Metro government's preferred outcome is saving the Fiscal Court building through an adaptive reuse project. It has also stated it would like affordable/workforce housing, retail, a hotel, public open space, entertainment venues and a parking structure that would make up for lost surface parking.
Main Street/Washington Street
Developer: Poe Companies. Past developments include the Hotel Distil and Moxy Louisville Downtown and Aloft hotels, the future home of Stellar Snacks in Park Hill, and WaterSide at RiverPark Place apartments along River Road.
Where: This site is actually multiple lots totaling more than 4 acres. It includes the vacant lot at the northeast corner and the surface parking lot at the northwest corner of West Washington and North Seventh streets; two lots at 615-621 W. Main St., currently home to Baird Urban Sports Park.
What does the city want for the space: Local government previously said it wanted one developer to work on this collection of nearby sites, preferably incorporating Main Street historic building facades and maintaining access to the Muhammad Ali Center Plaza. It also proposed adding a “larger scale tower” on the north side of Washington Street, to include a parking structure.
Mudd Lot
Developer: Lincoln Property Company, in partnership with Louisville-based LDG Development. Lincoln Property Company real estate firm has completed 150 million square feet of development since its founding in 1965, according to its website.
Where: The 3-acre lot is at the southeast corner of Jefferson and Ninth streets. It's been used for city employee parking.
What does the city want for the space? Metro Government has suggested mixed-use development that includes housing, and building on the nearby redevelopment of Beecher Terrace.
Growth & development reporter Matthew Glowicki can be reached at mglowicki@courier-journal.com, 502-582-4000 or on Twitter @mattglo.
This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Louisville developers to reimagine 9 acres of city-owned downtown lots
