Also includes 53,000 s.f. of retail space, 900 parking spaces
By The Lane Report
Downtown Louisville’s long-planned Center City project by Fourth Street Live! Developer The Cordish Company has evolved into a $245 million hotel, apartment and retail block that Cordish says “will anchor a broader revitalization of downtown Louisville and help move Louisville towards a 24-7 downtown.”
A four-star hotel company that will be new to the Louisville market has committed with Cordish to participate in Center City, according to The Cordish Co. The key elements of the plan reflect the finding of downtown convention center task force research on what Louisville needs to be competitive.
The company released a rendering today to The Lane Report that depicts a hotel tower of 30-plus stories dominating the former Louisville Water Co. block bounded by Second, Third and Liberty streets and Muhammad Ali Boulevard. Lower-rise five or six story structures, some with inner courtyards, would house 200 apartment units and 53,000 s.f. of retail anchored by a specialty grocery, according to Cordish. There would be 900 parking spaces in the 23-acre block also.
The Baltimore-based urban project developer calls its current Louisville plan “game changing” for downtown.
“We are very bullish on the future of downtown Louisville, and we believe that the city is now well positioned for growth,” the company said in a statement. “We are very proud of the role that Fourth Street Live! has played in the revitalization of downtown, and we look forward to increasing our investment in downtown Louisville.”
Center City has been on the drawing boards since 2007 when it was announced by Louisville Metro and The Cordish Co. officials as a $442 million multiphase multiuse project.
“Our vision is a gold standard, mixed-use development that can be developed in phases” today’s Cordish statement said. “We evolved our plan in order to be responsive to requests from the city, convention center and local community” to include the current hotel, housing and retail elements. “We are working with the city to determine the scope of the first phase.
The Cordish Co. said it has 100 percent of the necessary private financing in place and itself will provide all necessary equity financing.
“Our goal with the city is to have an agreement in place this fall, and we are working diligently to make that happen,” the company said. “If that is achieved, our goal is commence construction in 2014 with the first phase taking approximately 18 months to complete.”
An estimated 1,000 construction jobs and 450 permanent jobs will result from Center City.
Cordish said it has been working with the city on a weekly basis and making significant progress in finalizing the details of the current version of the project.
“We are working with the city to determine to what extent the public subsidies are available, with a goal of limiting public involvement to the extent possible,” Cordish stated.
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