JCC Louisville Science Building Rendering

I knew Jefferson Community College was building their Nursing and Allied Health Building on Second and Chestnut. What I didn't know was what it's going to look like. Just a short trip to the building site solved that mystery. They have a rendering of the 25.6 Million dollar project on their construction sign. It looks like a nice little building. It will be a great filler for the downtown area. The 100,000 square foot facility will be the first new construction for JCC in over 30 years.

Norton Brownsboro Hospital Update

After being topped off earlier this summer, the new Norton Hospital at Brownsboro Crossing is slowly getting its brick finish. Norton is shooting for an August 29th 2009 opening, just under a year from now. It will have 127 all private rooms. It will be Louisville's first full service hospital built in over 25 years. After everything is said and done, Norton will have spend over 146 Million dollars on the new Brownsboro Hospital. From the picture you can already get an idea of what it'll look like in the future.

Fancy Windows at Republic Plaza

On my latest round through downtown I've noticed some fancy new windows being put into the Republic Plaza building as part of their renovation. It's some snazzy looking shiny blue glass. It looks like the middle three floors have floor to ceiling windows. All that's left now is to spruce up the exterior walls and it'll look like a brand new building.

Louisville Arena financing not secured yet but cheaper

The arena authority has not secured financing for the new Louisville arena yet, and we're back to having to wait and see what happens next week. They do sound very optimistic though that they will have good news next Wednesday. The do have a special meeting scheduled for that day. I hope they don't get burned twice.

One good news that came out of today's meeting was that the new arena will cost 25 million dollars less than first budgeted. That is due to a more competitive bidding market. Nobody else is building, so contractors really want jobs and put in offers at rock bottom prices. Let's hope Museum Plaza can take advantage of that as well.
Meanwhile, as you can see in the picture, half of the old LG&E substation is missing due to deconstruction efforts.

Louisville Arena Financing Secured?

Fox 41 reported yesterday that the Arena Authority quietly secured building funds. They quote from an unspecified national business publication. The authority hopes to make a formal announcement on Thursday.
We shall see...but it sounds like good news on the arena front. I guess this time they kept mum about their progress until they had all their ducks in a row.

Louisville Parking Garages Updates

Construction equipment has been moved to Jefferson Street between First and Second street to start construction of a new parking garage. The new garage across the street from the City Block night club will be a six story structure with 433 parking spaces. It's in a great location as it can serve the convention center and eventually the new arena and the City Center project. It is scheduled to be completed in early 2009.







In other parking garage updates, the U of L medical campus garage is coming along nicely. The 30.7 million dollar structure along Clay street will have room for more than 1700 cars. On the bottom floor it will have room for two restaurants. Part of it will be completed by August 2009. Currently they are installing columns.

Clarksville Eastern Boulevard Revamp

Clarksville city officials held a groundbreaking ceremony last Saturday to commemorate the kick off of construction on a newly redesigned Eastern Boulevard. Local businesses complained for years that Boulevard does not meet modern standards. In the next two years Clarksville will add a turning lane, new light fixtures, a sidewalk and improve intersections. The whole project will cost the city more than 5 Million dollars. The hope is that the Boulevard will return to its old glory. The designer in charge of the redesign was also in charge of the Lewis and Clark Parkway redo. So we can expect the two to tie in perfectly. Work will start in the next two weeks.

Book Suggestion - The Louisville Guide

While I was browsing in the book store the other day, I came across a book called The Louisville Guide. If you are interested in Louisville architecture, this is the book to get. The book lists brief descriptions of almost every building of note in Louisville. You get to learn a little bit about the architecture of the buildings as well as the history. It also gives you a little history lesson on all the different commercial districts. And it is full of pictures (albeit black and white). I know this does not have anything to do with current Louisville developments, but as somebody famous once said, in order to understand the future you have to understand the past!
Amazon will actually let you look at some of the stuff you can find in the book. To sum it all up, I have not found a more complete guide to Louisville architecture anywhere else. And it's cheap, too!

Museum Plaza Utility Construction Update

Here's a little update on what the Museum Plaza site looked like on Saturday, August 16th. As you can see under the raised interstate, part of the Plaza-financed 14 million dollar utility work is well under way. Last I could tell, the work site stretched all the way from way past the Ninth Street on-ramp to the site of the new arena. Other than that, the Museum Plaza site itself looks as empty as always, except for the two pickup trucks.

Clarksville's Colgate Plant

Great news for Clarksville's former Colgate plant. According to a news story on Fox41, three developers are vying for the property, after it was reduced in price (from 13.3 to 9 million). Their goal is to turn it into a multi-use development. I think an ideal use for the property would be a conference center. Both Jeffersonville and Clarksville conducted studies recently coming to the conclusion that Southern Indiana is in great need of a conference center with an attached hotel of at least 200 rooms. A nice high rise on the Indiana side could take full advantage of the beautiful Louisville skyline. I am surprised there aren't more high rises on the Indiana side right now.

Zirmed Gateway Tower Update

Just a little update on the Zirmed Gateway Tower on Ninth and Market. Crews are now working on the eighth floor. As you can see on the below picture, they have started putting frames in on the first floor. So, work is coming along quite nicely.

Republic Plaza Work Started

I am pleased to see that work has finally begun to turn an eyesore into something less ugly. The former Legal Arts Building on Seventh and Market is finally getting its 5-Million Dollar renovation, and work has started to gut the building. I still would have rather seen it torn down completely, but what we can be happy about is what they are doing to it. Once completed, it will house some of Republic Bank's increasing workforce. In my opinion, they should have just built a new 12 story building to house all of their employees under one roof. According to the Courier-Journal, the renovations are supposed to be finished by the end of the year.

Introduction

Welcome to the Louisville Development Blog. I have always been interested in local real estate developments in Louisville and southern Indiana, and I would like to share my hobby with y'all. Not only will I try to let you know about the latest developments, but I'll also show you the construction progress of the unfinished ones. I hope you enjoy it.