A small parking lot on Armory Place between Muhammad Ali Boulevard and Liberty Street is now just like any other surface level lot you might find in the city. But not too long ago, colorful flowers were painted all over the asphalt.
Flower Power Parking Lot Now Just Dull Grey
BOZA Needs Time, Postpones JB Swift Meeting
Monday’s Board of Zoning Adjustments meeting concerning JB Swift’s late-in-the-game approval for their mostly built facility expansion has been extended to August 31 at 8:30am. In a normal meeting like Monday’s, each side is allotted 15 minutes for testimony, but because of the complicated nature of this important case, the BOZA members voted to dedicate an entire meeting to the important issue.
While it’s going to be difficult to wait nearly two more months to hear a decision on one of the biggest concerns facing Louisville today, it does appear the BOZA is attempting to give the issue due concern. This decision, whether it sets in motion the relocation process for Swift or it continues down the same road of expanded facilities at the current Butchertown site, will profoundly impact the development and growth of Louisville for decades to come. It’s important this one doesn’t get screwed up.
Both sides submitted lengthy documents to the Board already, and each has been given extra time to prepare more material for the upcoming meeting. We’ll keep you posted when we learn more. Meanwhile, stay caught up with previous coverage of the ongoing situation:
- JB Swift Company Faces BOZA Monday (July 6) (Broken Sidewalk)
- JB Swift Meets With Butchertown Over Illegal Expansion (Broken Sidewalk)
- JB Swift Starts Butchertown Expansion Without Approval (Broken Sidewalk)
- Butchertown’s Swift Plant Still Stinking Up The Room (Broken Sidewalk)
Clinical & Translational Research Building Almost Done
A new University of Louisville research building on the corner of Hancock Street and Muhammad Ali Boulevard is welcoming its first tenants. Formally known as the Clinical & Translational Research Building (CTRB), the $143 million structure has been designed to achieve LEED Certification for sustainable architecture.
According to the University of Louisville:
One of the most innovative design features is the use of dual purpose window sun-shade/light shelves that will help reduce energy costs and improve the comfort and quality of the interior environment. This unique treatment of the exterior facades both shades windows from sun exposure to reduce heat gain and reflects natural daylight into offices and labs to minimize the use of artificial lighting.
All new buildings at the University of Louisville are being design to meet LEED standards. The building will officially open later this summer, probably some time in late July or early August, and a grand opening is scheduled for September. The Clinical & Translational Research Building was designed by Arrasmith, Judd, Rapp, Chovan of Louisville and The SmithGroup of Detroit.
- Snapshot: Clinical & Translational Research Building (Broken Sidewalk)
- Street Trees Installed At New Research Building (Broken Sidewalk)
Bycks Lofts Fills Up, Could Soon Have Retail
The Bycks Lofts mixed-use conversion on Fourth Street at Guthrie Green will soon be fully occupied. The 16-unit building’s penthouse has found a buyer and the remaining units have been filled with lease-to-own arrangements. (Read more about the project’s details in an earlier Broken Sidewalk article.) This marks an important milestone for the Downtown condo market as it demonstrates location sells. The Bycks Lofts has been one of only a handful of new projects in the core of Downtown and the only one we know of directly on Fourth Street.
As more people trend to call the central business district home, the more likely business will boom that will help fuel a cyclical growth process and eventually create a truly vibrant Downtown. The area surrounding Bycks Lofts has already seen quite a bit of improvement. Besides other mixed-used condos in the vicinity and the neon-lit 4th Street Live, the Theater Square Marketplace in the old Kentucky Theater offers some of everything the city dweller will need.
Retail space on the ground floor of the Bycks Lofts building could also soon be filled with a new local restaurant. Developer David Barhorst says he is in the final stages of talks with a Mexican restaurant who could occupy the space and a formal announcement will be coming later. He described the venture as a natural fit for Fourth Street and one that will benefit everyone who uses Downtown.
The Louisville Downtown Management District (LDMD) recently awarded Bycks Lofts a Cornerstone Award in late June. LDMD bestows the honor on notable businesses and developments that have invested over $1 million in Downtown Louisville. Bycks Lofts has been a leader recently in filling its units, an effort that has now resulted in a full building.
- SoFo Development (Official Site)
- Bycks Lofts (Official Site)
- Bycks Lofts On Fourth Street Ready To Go (Broken Sidewalk)
Sunny Side Update: News From New Albany
A while ago, we found a construction site on New Albany’s Main Street that appeared to be a pub or restaurant, but we could find no details. We may now have the answer. NA Confidential ran a post a couple weeks ago showing a sign has been installed over the door. The new bar will be called “Liquidz Bar & Grill.” The interior looks like it has a way to go before it opens. Details are still sparse, but there are rumors that Liquidz is one of two establishments slated for this stretch of Main Street.
NA Confidential also points out that a new restaurant on New Albany’s West Main Street called “Jackson’s Seafood” has opened and checks in on the Wick’s Pizza Pub that may not open until September. There’s a couple other places coming into Downtown NA, too.
With such a well preserved Downtown providing easily convertible buildings and a beautiful, highway-free riverfront, the city is poised to become a real walkable community full of urban vibrancy. Also, if you missed it, be sure to read LEO‘s lengthy write-up of the revitalization efforts of New Albany from a couple weeks ago.
- Retail Watch: New Albany Preparing Another Downtown Bar (Broken Sidewalk)
Sullivan University Adds Green Curriculum In A Green Building
Sullivan University announced last Monday that it has formally changed the name of the Louisville Technical Institute to the Sullivan College of Technology & Design. To celebrate the change, officials broke ground on a new 12,000 square foot building that is expected to receive LEED Certification for green building.
Video: Strangely Possible Campaign Found In England
For better or for worse, we’re the Possibility City. But has a new campaign emerging in England via a student competition risen to challenge the supremacy of our possibility title? It’s possible.
Students Alex Katz, Borja Diego, and Javier Iniguez de Onzono Martin of Miami Ad School in Madrid have won an award for integrated communication from D&AD. Their concept appears to be a marketing campaign for a British bank called The Co-Operative and features Possi-ville with slogans such as “Anything is possible in Possi Ville.”
They came up with some clever material including a one-way ticket to Possi-Ville because it “is a place you want to visit and never want to leave.” Other ideas included guerilla marketing and a video game trailer seen above.
So does this spark the first trans-Atlantic Possibility-Feud? It’s possible. But the original Possibility City recently had some fun of its own with the video below featuring Broken Sidewalk reader, developer, and advertising extraordinaire Pip Pullen. Take a look at Louisville’s beautiful built environment as two “Brits” (aka “The Possibilitators”) tour around Limeyville.
Thoughts?
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