Three investors have begun renovating a long-troubled building at 514 South Fifth Street just south of Muhammad Ali Boulevard. The structure had been boarded up for years with several businesses occupying the ground floor retail space periodically. The structure had been vacant recently and was in foreclosure. Now brothers Griffin and Andy Meredith, vice president of a financial and insurance company and financial advisor respectively, and attorney Tanner Watkins have acquired the property and plan three apartments above ground floor retail.
“We think this building is in the center of an area that should play a vital role in the revitalization of downtown,” Griffin Meredith said. “We live and work here and we want Downtown to be a place that people want to be, and not just from nine to five.”
The group is currently moving ahead with exterior work, thanks in part to a $50,000 facade loan from Metro Louisville awarded last Friday. The city’s economic development office paired the team with RKO Architects who drew up a new facade plan. “We have finished a large portion of the demolition, abatement, design, and plans. So we are ready to start with the work,” Meredith said. Exterior work includes installing a new storefront system along Fifth Street, tuck pointing the brick facade, and adding new windows with Juliet balconies.
Once facade work is complete, the group plans to complete three apartments, each with 1-2 bedrooms and baths, on the upper floors. Sizes and rents haven’t been officially set, but Meredith said they will likely vary from 1,100 to 1,200 square feet and range from $1,200 to $1,600. The first floor interior has already been shelled and is ready to be built out when a retail tenant is found.
This building use to have the B. F. Keith Theater (aka National Theatre) as a neighbor, correct?