Developer buys 4 acres, including Plumbers Supply building, in NuLu area. What to know
An entire city block at the edge of NuLu is under new ownership with yet undefined plans for redevelopment.
The longtime Plumbers Supply Company headquarters at 1000 E. Main St. in the East Market District has been sold to Winebrenner Property Management LLC, a subsidiary of Louisville-based Winebrenner Capital Management.
Managing member Earl Winebrenner III said there are no preconceived notions about what the block could become but that he has a "commitment to preserve the area's rich history."
Werst Realty LLC sold not only the Plumbers Supply building but also its nearby parking lots at 933-937 and 1001 E. Main St. and a commercial warehouse property at 1001-1011 Story Ave., totaling over 4 acres and 120,000 square feet of building space.
“Ultimately due to its size, we envision developing some portions ourselves, joint venturing on others, and selling some as well,” Winebrenner said in a Jan. 19 release.
A purchase price wasn't initially disclosed, though deed records show the properties were sold for $16 million. Winebrenner said in the release that investing clients of his wealth management service made the deal possible and that financing was not used.
Plumbers Supply Company opened offices at 1000 E. Market St. location in 1930, just nine years after the company's founding by John J. Werst, Sr., and six other partners.
It was the company's longest continuously operated office until the business relocated its downtown area location to 930 Market St. in December 2023 and moved its primary warehouse and headquarters to 4420 Bishop Lane.
Jay Werst, chairman of Plumbers Supply Company, said in a release he looks forward to the properties' future.
"Through a methodical process, our family determined that selling the Main Street properties to Winebrenner will add to the exciting transformation of NuLu," Werst said.
Winebrenner's company transformed the nearby corner of East Main and Campbell streets from a vacant retail space into the six-story, 137-unit Martin on Main apartment complex, a $43 million project.
Winebrenner purchased the land in 2019, secured city approvals in 2021, and opened the mixed-use building in 2023. Korean steakhouse Nami, from chef Edward Lee, opened on the first floor of the building in May 2023 and additional first-level retail space is still available.
Winebrenner offered few specifics for what may develop on the newly acquired 4 acres but said the existing parking lots of 66 spaces will be immediately used as paid public parking, to be managed by Riverside Parking.
“We’ve viewed the closing as the launching point of the project," he said.
The acquisitions are located on the eastern end of the Nulu district, which has seen hundreds of millions in investments in recent years, from hotels to restaurants to retail.
More immediately, the block to the north directly across Main Street from the former Plumbers Supply building has come to be known as Butcher Block. Over the last decade, local developer Andy Blieden has purchased a row of mostly rundown shotgun homes and turned them into a commercial district of shops, services and eateries.
"We are very excited that Earl's company bought this property," Blieden told the Courier Journal. "It’s one of the best development opportunities in all of Louisville. Earl does great work and we can’t wait to see what his plans are for the future for the site."
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: Plumbers Supply building, nearby lots in NuLu area sold to developer
