LOUISVILLE — Officials broke ground April 11 on the new AC Hotel NuLu on E. Market Street in downtown Louisville. The $42.6 million hotel will have a European-inspired design and is expected to be a new anchor in the East Market Street corridor.
Located in the heart of Louisville’s trendiest urban growth area, the 152-room AC NuLu Hotel is an upscale, boutique hotel developed by Concord Hospitality Enterprises and Marriott’s AC Hotels division. The burgeoning ‘NuLu’ district – short for New Louisville – continues to emerge as a cultural arts district.
The hotel will be northwest of Shelby and Market streets. A news release said the hotel will have “a décor package appealing to design-conscious travelers who also want a location that offers an experiential stay.” There will also be a 188-space garage, a rooftop bar, and 8,000-s.f. of commercial space.
Construction on the AC Hotel NuLu is expected to take just over a year and is expected to create 240 new jobs.
Louisville Metro Mayor Greg Fischer and Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin participated in the groundbreaking. AC NuLU Hotel is the first project in Kentucky to use funding from the Bluegrass International Fund (BiF), which provides capital from foreign sources for economic development projects in Kentucky and Southern Indiana.
The Lane Report published a One-On-One interview with Bluegrass International Fund CEO Lynn Allen on March 11, 2016.
Executive Editor Mark Green asked Lynn Allen last year how BiF funds and assesses projects to bring to EB-5 investors (The Department of Homeland Security’s program that allows investment in economic development projects on behalf of overseas investors who seek permanent green-card status under the EB-5 Regional Center Program)?
“We look at two things,” Allen said. “One is the purpose of the program, and the second thing is what the investors want. Those two considerations align. So first we want to invest in targeted employment areas. That’s because 98.8 percent of investors invest in targeted employment areas. Why? Because they can invest at the minimum $500,000 amount and still create 10 jobs and get their green card. They’re making the investment to secure a green card for themselves, their spouse and their children and not to get a return necessarily. Their primary concern is, ‘How many jobs am I going to create?’ ”
Add Comment