Construction at Sapporo on Fourth Street (Courtesy tipster)

A tipster sent in this photo today of construction progress at the new Sapporo on Fourth Street.  It looks like Fourth south of Cordish is about ready to stand on its own.  We already have the Theater Square Marketplace next door and Bycks Lofts open and City Properties Group’s plans for Clay Commons and the Caperton Block could really make an impact.  Sol Azteca’s has taken the place of the former Raw Sushi and I suppose we could count the planned Eddie Merlot’s and the return of the Colonnade Cafe in the area as well, not to mention all of the businesses already in the corridor.

What do you think, is Fourth Street below Muhammad Ali ready to be an attraction all its own?  What else does the area need?

D & W Silks to open a retail store on Frankfort Ave. (via Google street view)

[ Editor's Note:  This post was updated to correct the address of the new D & W Silks shop incorrectly labeled in the METCO press release.  Thanks to our tipsters for spotting a "coming soon" sign in the new storefront window.  ]

The city announced a new round of METCO loans today.  No major announcements, but we do learn where D & W Silks retail shop will end up now that their former East Main Street building has been demolished for a proposed high-rise.  D & W received a $100,000 loan to open up a store at 2320 Frankfort Avenue in the Clifton neighborhood.  It’s on the corner of Frankfort and Keats Avenues in that building that’s been vacant seemingly forever.  They will be purchasing the structure and part-owner Chris Deeley says they hope to be open in six to eight weeks.

The other loans announced are as follows:

• $25,000 to Two Dazzle, a new retail store that will sell gifts, home accessories and seasonal decor. The shop, to open at 3819 Willis Avenue in St. Matthews, is owned by Ronda Simmons and Kimberly Marshall.
• $7,500 to Comfy Cow, an ice cream and desert store in Westport Village. The loan will help the shop, owned by Roy and Tim Koons-McGee purchase outdoor furniture that will double the store’s seating capacity.
• $60,000 to Gilman’s Point, a commercial property being renovated at 220 Ridgeway Ave. The money will allow owners Theodore Mitzlaff and Stephen Smith to rehab the property, including adding accessible restrooms and improve the building’s facade.
• $100,000 to Atteberry Smith, a start-up cabinet and window business that will operate at Gilman’s Point, 220 Ridgeway Ave. The company is owned by Theodore Mitzlaff and Stephen Smith.
• $100,000 loan to Hertz Starks Building LLC, which owns the hi-rise office tower at 4th and Muhammad Ali Boulevard. The loan will assist in improving the building façade.

Another $300,000 loan for the Starks Building was approved by a Metro Council committee this week as well for a planned high-end chain steakhouse called Eddie Merlot’s setting up shop in a vacant corner store.  Fox 41 has more details and notes the full Metro Council must now vote on the loan.

Impellizzeri's Pizza to open on Main Street (BS File Photo)

There has been a flurry of activity on the Downtown dining scene lately and 2010 could be one of the most exciting years for new restaurants opening up in the city core.  Today’s roundup covers pizza, sushi, steaks, and all-American cuisine.

First, Louisville HotBytes broke the news that Impellizzeri’s Pizza will open a huge new location at 110 West Main Street within a block of the new arena.  The new 9,000 square foot restaurant is next door to Prime Lounge and across the street from the new Patrick O’Shea’s.  Here are a few details from HotBytes:

“We are currently planning on having space for private dining/catering. We will also have live entertainment. Of course with that amount of room there will be much more seating and a larger bar area. This location will also be open for lunch. We are currently working on products and equipment that will speed up service for lunch. We plan to open Oct 1st.”

The 110 Building is an old parking garage and was renovated several years ago.  At the time, there were plans to open an upscale cigar lounge there but the smoking ban took effect and the space has been vacant ever since.  So far, Impellizzeri’s joins Patrick O’Shea’s, Hog n’ Char, Sol Aztecas, Prime, Bearno’s and the BBC in establishing a new Arena District.

Sapporo to open on Fourth Street (BS File Photo)

Gabe Bullard at WFPL’s The Edit has been following the development of a new Sapporo restaurant on Fourth Street at the site of the old Cafe Kilimanjaro.  The hut in the picture above has been removed and a rendering posted at The Edit shows a larger hut will take its place.  Here are a few details:

“This sign is up in the window of the new development. It looks like the old door to Songs For Seba will be turned into a window, and the Cafe Kilimanjaro entrance will be the front door, behind a new gate from the sidewalk. There’s a stone wall going up to the sidewalk and a larger hut behind it to cover outdoor seating.”

Eddie Merlot's to open on Fourth Street (BS File Photo)

Plans were announced in January regarding the new upscale steakhouse Eddie Merlot’s slated for the Starks Building at Fourth Street and Muhammad Ali, but it’s back in the news this week as it could receive a $300,000 loan from the city to get started.  (Metro Council was set to vote on that last night – anyone know the result? Or else the next METCO meeting is March 4.)  The Fort Wayne, IN based chain will occupy 11,500 square feet and could be open in July or August.

At $3 million, the new restaurant is going to be pretty fancy.  Eddie Merlot’s keeps their interiors light and filled with art to appeal to a female demographic and it’s likely going to be quite ornate with a grand entrance.  According to reports in January, Louisville’s Eddie Merlot’s is unique in that the chain usually opens up shop in the suburbs, but Louisville’s Downtown was strong enough for owner Bill Humphrey’s to try an urban concept.

The new restaurant joins the Colonnade Cafeteria which announced last year that it would be returning to the Starks Building after a stint on East Broadway at the defunct Louisville Antique Mall.  The corner retail spot taken by Merlot’s has been vacant since Rodes, a clothing store, moved to the suburbs several years ago.  Plans for an upscale seafood restaurant, McCormick & Schmick’s, fell through as did an arrangement with the Cordish Company to expand Fourth Street Live.

BBC to open on Main Street (BS File Photo)

Finally, the Bluegrass Brewing Company is currently working on renovating a two-story space at Third and Main Streets directly across from the arena into a $1.4 million restaurant and bar.  BBC owners Patrick & Lamont Hagan have brought Jeff Rawlins of Architectural Artisans on board to design the restaurant including a new handicap accessible entrance on Third Street.

Plans include a more casual micro-brewery and bar in the basement and a nicer restaurant space on the second floor.  The basement will house the main entrance and will feature brick walls in addition to visible brewery equipment.  An elevator and stairs will lead to the second floor which still has original molding on the ceiling (photo after click) and offers wide open spaces with large windows.

Rawlins explains that it was crucial not to harm the architecturally significant 1890s era structure.  He has inserted a 21″ ramp to allow a set of doors to fit perfectly under the massive stone lintel of the basement level (plans after click).  Plans also show a new sign to be mounted above the door on the building’s middle bay on Third Street.

Click through for photos and a diagram of the new BBC.

Model of proposed pedway (by Architectural Glass Art)

A new 860-space parking garage at the Galt House is already under construction on Third Street which includes a pedway parallel to Third providing visual screening from the blank wall of the Galt House’s Ballroom.  A second pedway across Third Street connecting to the arena now appears to be a reality after it had been in jeopardy over financing.

Financial details are still being worked out, but what we have now is a design that will eventually be in place by the end of the year – and it’s quite structurally unique.  Ken von Roenn, president and lead designer at Architectural Glass Art, designed the pedway to include a structural glass canopy with iridescent dichroic glass that changes color depending on the light.

There are already several examples of this colorful glass around the Galt House and Downtown.  Another pedway across Main Street also designed by von Roenn several years ago includes a dichroic glass sculpture and the Galt House recently installed glass tulips on its Conservatory over Fourth Street.  The new parking garage will also feature dichroic glass sconces on its pedway to Main Street.

When there is no daylight to bring about the playful nature of this glass, the new pedway across Third will also feature an interactive light display that senses when someone is walking inside.  Like its counterpart across Main Street, this pedway will be a work of art.

Perhaps most interesting, though, is the structural nature of the glass.  The supporting platform will obviously include steel, but everything above will be glass with slender columns comprised of three pieces of 3/8″ sheets laminated together.  Interestingly, glass is stronger than steel in similar applications and entire houses have been built of nothing but glass (Just remember not to throw stones).  Imagine those fancy glass staircases at the flagship Apple stores.

While many urbanists remain skeptical about pedways and their affect on sidewalk vitality, I believe this example is worth the investment.  Not only is it a dynamic piece of artwork, but it’s location is mid-block and far removed from the corner of Third and Main Streets.  With the arena expected to host large events, this pedway could help pedestrians cross a street that might otherwise be clogged with cars.  There will be so much to  see and do directly around the arena on all sides that there shouldn’t be a problem attracting people to the sidewalks.

Architectural Glass Art was founded in Louisville in 1875 and is responsible for many dynamic art installations found throughout the city and nation.

Click through for a few more views of the pedway model.

Caperton Block to be renovated

Last year, I told you about City Properties Group’s plans for the Caperton Block on the corner of Fourth and Chestnut Streets.  I recently had a chance to tour the 1880s era structure with Kent Weyland of CPG to see what shape the building is in today and find a few clues about how it will be transformed.

City Properties Group plans to convert the structure into apartments and is calling the project the Caperton Lofts for now, a name that may change in the future.  Like all projects undertaken by CPG, the final program might change with the market and there’s could be, for instance, some office space included in the final mix.

The structure, also known as the Guthrie Coke Building, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is one of the last large 19th century buildings in Downtown waiting for rehabilitation.

Inside the building’s upper three floors, apartments are currently in varying states of decay but the space is filled to the brim with potential.  The old layout of the building is circuitous and I would have been quickly disoriented with just a flashlight if not for the help of my guide.

When renovation is complete, these apartments should be some of the nicest in Louisville.  They all have gigantic ceilings with oversized details and unique layouts.  Two light wells long sealed up will be opened again allowing natural light to pour into the center of the structure.

In some places, the plaster is falling from the ceiling due to water damage and in others 12 or more layers of paint are beginning to peel, but still others look like they haven’t been touched in a century and are in pristine condition.  Despite damage to some of the building, the structure is in remarkable structural condition.

Kent Weyland says the original details of the building will be preserved whenever possible including original woodwork, fireplaces, and even some of the remarkably preserved original wooden windows.  He says the Caperton Block exhibits the qualities City Properties Group looks for when undertaking a renovation project: historical detail and structural soundness in the heart of Louisville.

While the inside definitely will require a lot of work, this building is going to clean up well.  Even without electricity, the apartments were flooded with light from massive windows and will be even brighter when the light wells are opened up.  With the coming construction of CPG’s boutique hotel across the street and the renovation of the Caperton Block, Fourth and Chestnut won’t be recognizable in a couple of years.

Click through for a photo tour of the Caperton Block.

Qdoba under construction on Fourth Street (BS File Photo)

A new Qdoba Mexican Grill for the corner of Fourth and Jefferson Streets is under construction.  A tipster wrote in this week to report the work and guessed it would be a couple months before opening.  It turns out that projection was pretty much right on target.  Qdoba’s twitter arm, @Qdobalouisville, reported this morning that the projected opening date is early March.

I reported last summer about plans for the new Downtown restaurant when it received a $50,000 METCO loan and noted then that it’s great to see retail once again taking the ground floor space in the Marion E. Taylor building aka Chase bank building and formerly the Paul Jones building.

Is the arena a whale?

While walking down Witherspoon Street not too long ago, I was taking a few photos of the dramatic contour of the roof of the new arena.  From this particular vantage point east of the arena, the structure is fully visible.

Then it hit me, the arena isn’t a toaster or an all-in-one printer-copier-fax as some have jabbed in the past.  From this angle, it doesn’t even look all that much like its twin in Liverpool.

It appears to be, in fact, a whale.

Just check out the sinuous curving roofline.  What was supposed to evoke the flowing waters of the Ohio River rushing over the falls has turned out to be a beached porpoise, corralled inland by I-64.  It’s even got its own blowhole, pictured below.  Those condensing units, in the right situation, will be emitting vapor into the air.

Is this analogy a little too harsh?  Iconic forms are always going to bring secondary images to mind.  For more info on the ideas of iconic architecture, check out this interview with architect Charles Jencks or the blog Eikongraphia which documents iconic architecture from around the world.

What do you see when you look at the arena?  Do you like the design?

Is the arena a whale?

Is the arena a whale?

Lobby of Louisville Hotel (Industries of Louisville)

[ Editor's Note:  Added three new multimedia items to the end of the post submitted by a tipster including two additional views of the Louisville Hotel lobby and a menu from the hotel's restaurant. ]

It’s always nice when a great building replaces a blank spot in the city where a once great building stood.  That’s the case at 614 West Main Street where one of my favorite infill projects of the last decade, the Six Fourteen Building, compliments the historic architecture of West Main Street.

The story goes back to the early 1830s when Louisville landed its first really elegant hotel, aptly named the Louisville Hotel.  Completed in 1833, the structure “was a visible sign that Louisville had come of age as an urban center” (Encyclopedia of Louisville).  The hotel represents a shift from “cozy inns” to modern convenience with a barber and tailor shop and a private dining room.

Designed by Louisville’s first professional architect, Hugh Roland, the four story building featured a commanding Ionic colonnade with ten columns elevated one story above Main Street (be sure to check the images after the click).  Locals were proud to point out that the hotel was the most elegant in the western United States and was larger than Boston’s fashionable Tremont House.

A description of the area from a pamphlet in 1938 called “100 Years Of Public Service” reads:

“Just above the newly gas-lighted waterfront was glamorous Main Street. Colorful and exciting, its hotels and amusement centers were the rendezvous for many famous characters who played leading roles in the exciting drama of city and nation-building. Here scores of gorgeously painted overland stage coaches met the fast, luxurious river boats for the South, West, East and North. Planters, astride magnificent thoroughbreds, vied with the caravans of covered wagon freighters to add exciting action. This was Louisville in 1838.”

The Louisville Hotel was expanded in 1853 to Sixth Street (buildings still exist) and the collonade was removed by architects Henry Whitestone and Isaiah Rogers.  The Encyclopedia of Louisville points out that Rogers was the architect of the Tremont House.  The subsequent facade resembled Boston’s hotel much more.

After losing its prominence at the turn of the century, the Louisville Hotel closed in 1938.  The still existing annex had in turn served as the original Seelbach Hotel until 1905 when it moved to Fourth Street and the Old Inn.  The building was razed in 1949 for a parking lot.  (You may also remember another grand Louisville building was also destroyed in the 1940s.)

In the early 2000s, Fenley Real Estate built the six-story, 85,000 square foot Six Fourteen Building as office and retail space, filling a major gap in West Main Street.  K. Norman Berry Associates designed the building to connect with the adjacent Doe-Anderson Building and reflect modern and historic influences in its grey brick and limestone facade.

In 2004, the Louisville Historical League designated the building as a “Future Landmark.”  The vertical limestone pillars imposed on the curving glass facade could be seen as a reference to the original colonnade of the Louisville Hotel.

I included a photo of the Public Theater on Lafayette Street in Manhattan (after the click) to demonstrate what the original Louisville Hotel might look like today if it were unaltered and still standing.  The New York structure was built in 1832 and began as a series of townhomes called LaGrange Place and later named Colonnade Row.  Today, the structure is a small theater owned by the Blue Man Group.

Click through to see how the site has changed in 150 years.