Troll Pub Under the Bridge is now open

After an investment of one million dollars, Whiskey Row is now home to yet another restaurant/bar. The basement of the building facing the KFC Yum Center is now home to the Troll Pub Under the Bridge. It's quite hard to miss, since there is a giant troll guarding the entrance ramp. The troll itself is 10-ft tall.

The owners also installed nice signage on the corner of the building. The bar was open today for the U of L scrimmage. If you want to see how the troll was constructed, check out this older blog entry. Unfortunately, Washington Street, the street the pub is facing, is still closed for through traffic.

Louisville's Whiskey Row Lofts add Signage

The Whiskey Row Lofts development across the street from the KFC Yum Center adds outdoor signage to the building. The large black letters are facing the arena and spell out "Whiskey Row Lofts." The lofts part of the 19 Million dollar development should open up fairly soon. Most of the retail spaces have already been occupied. The latest development on the retail front was the announcement of an additional bar, called "Troll's Pub Under the Bridge" which will be located at the Washington Street side of the development. According to a Business First article, the bar will feature an eight foot troll sitting outside the establishment.

Pics of New Parking Garage at Galt House

With the new arena opening the need for parking grew near the site. The Galt stepped up and built an 860-car parking garage across the street from the arena on third street. The building looks complete, but it is still missing gates at the main entrance. As you can see in the pictures, the bricks that were used are color matched to the ones used in the lg&e power station next door. The garage replaces an old power grid structure. The new building also improves the street scape beyond the garage and gives this block of third street an unified brick look, adding also some retail space, yet to be leased.

Fancy new sidewalk on Norton Healthcare plaza at Yum Center

With just one more day to go before the grand opening of the KFC Yum Center I noticed some fancy sidewalks. As soon as you step on to the newly named Norton Healthcare plaza right outside the arena you will know what kind of game the main tenant will play. The traffic light indicator bricks for blind people are shaped like a basketball. They also added a tower structure to the plaza indicating that now it's the Norton Health Care Plaza.

Whiskey Row adds penthouse

With the KFC Yum Center about to open, the Whiskey Row development next door is taking shape as well. Crews have already replaced all of the windows facing the arena. They are now working on adding a penthouse levela to the top of the old buildings. This step reminds me a lot of what Whiskey Row developer Bill Weyland has done to one of his other developments. At the Henry Clay he also added a level to the top of the building. At Whiskey Row it looks like two of the buildings receive a vertical upgrade. I wonder if the apparments will be two story appartments, like the once at the Henry Clay?

They are also currently working on the facade facing Main street.

Sidewalk changes near KFC Yum Center

Over the last few weeks, worker have been installing a new sidewalk across the street from the KFC Yum Center. Unfortunately one of the first steps was to get rid of the trees that used to line this part of main street between second and third street. They were replaced by new lamp posts. The sidewalk itself was changes into some kind of checkerboard pattern with black and grey bricks. On the picture it's hard to tell, because the bricks are completely covered by construction dust.

KFC Yum Center Video board working

Driving past the arena today, I've noticed that the giant video board overlooking the plaza is now operational. One of the first animations running was a rotating cardinal bird mascot clip.

As you can see in the picture, there is one small panel not working. 

Since you can see the jumbo tron from the road I wonder if the arena has to limit what they can show on there. I remember a couple of years ago when the Kentucky center installed a digital billboard they had to comply with state regulations. They could only change the picture so much within a certain amount of time. From what I saw today, the new jumbo tron had moving images. I wonder if that might cause some trouble in the future.

KFC Yum Center adds Cardinal Birds

With the opening date for the new Louisville arena only weeks away, workers are adding the last pieces of signage. This week they've installed a few giant Cardinal birds. In addition to the mascots, Yum added a few Taco Bell, Pizza Hut and KFC logos. Cardinal Birds can now be found on the north side of the arena facing the interstate. Another bird is facing East Washington street, overlooking the second street bridge. As of today, workers were also testing the giant video screen overlooking the plaza in front of the arena.

Giant Countdown Clock at Louisville Arena Site

The University of Louisville has installed a giant countdown clock towards the opening of the downtown arena. The so called Cardinal Countdown is located right their at Main and Second Street. As of Saturday the countdown had not been initiated. The sign also features an arena rendering. There are also several other banners posted around the construction site listing its financial supporters and construction teams.

Say Goodbye to the Substation at the Louisville Arena Site

This morning at 9 you can see a little part of the former LG&E substation still standing. By the time I went by there again around 5, that part was gone too. So say goodbye to the substation, and let's hope we will soon see some real "concrete" construction starting at the arena site. I have never seen the arena site from this angle, but on the picture it actually looks like there is enough room to built an arena. I had my doubt at first, but with all the buildings gone, you can actually see how much room there really is.

Louisville Arena Pre Construction Started

With construction money in hand, and the old substation almost gone, pre-construction of the arena has started. Workers are digging holes and putting steel beams in them. I am not a construction guy, so I do not know the exact term for the work they are doing, but it looks like real construction to me.

I'd say with less than 5 percent of the substation still left, the arena authority will have a clean slate to work on within the next couple of weeks.

Louisville Arena - Money in the Bank

After months of struggling, arena chairman Jim Host announced today, he has the construction money in the bank. With the clearing of the site almost nearing completion, that money was desperately needed. One of the reasons behind the successful bond raising campaign was the fact that construction ended up being cheaper than expected. And, as always, I would hope that Museum Plaza will get its stroke of luck as well.

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.