Activity at the Museum Plaza Lot!

Jul 2, 2008

Well, July 1st came and went. The speculation ran high, but there is now construction activity down at the Museum Plaza site. There is a downside, mind you. Work for the rest of the year will be focused on removing those giant electrical towers and their associated power lines from the vicinity of the Museum Plaza footprint.

Those are a lot of power lines to bury, and without a construction loan, the Museum Plaza investment team has picked up the $15 million price tag themselves. The foundation of the building, which caused major headaches (from too many vibrations) earlier this year has been redesigned and should hopefully start up again around January when the market may be more favorable for the loan. Meanwhile, more trenches will be dug from the new substation at 3rd Street to bury all those lines.

Evolution of a Political Poster

Design

By Branden Klayko -

Jul 2, 2008

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Sometime in May a Barack Obama poster appeared on one of the boarded up windows of the old Vermont American plant on East Main Street. The slightly skewed angle gave the poster a dynamic edge. The Kentucky primary came and went, Obama lost, and his poster began to slowly disappear. In early June the poster had been clawed, ripped, and partially torn away. All that remained was a heroes smile and a giant “O”. By late June the poster was gone. The only clue to its existence the glue stain left on the boarded up window.

Development Watch: Phoenix Lofts in the Original Highlands

By Branden Klayko -

Jun 28, 2008

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Okay, so the Phoenix Lofts are basically in Phoenix Hill. But they sit on the Original Highlands side of Broadway at the corner of Rubel Avenue. Whichever neighborhood they call home, these are condos that play the townhouse game right. They feel urban-residential; something that Louisville has struggled with over the years.

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Health Sciences Campus Paints Town Red

Development

By Branden Klayko -

Jun 27, 2008

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The University of Louisville Health Sciences Campus recently painted the town… or at least the Interstate 65 bridge crossing Preston Street… red. The new mural replaces a quite dirty “bring peace to the world” mural painted by children. Small once brightly colored handprints make way for bold red and black stripes.

Snapshot: Zirmed Tower Update

By Branden Klayko -

Jun 27, 2008

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Here’s your latest update to the ZirMed Gateway Towers construction.

Strange Sidewalk Tree Growing in the East Village

By Branden Klayko -

Jun 26, 2008

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This unlikely street tree was spotted growing on Hancock Street between Market & Jefferson Streets. It has a shapely cone profile just wide enough to make walking down the sidewalk pretty annoying. Seen a strange street tree specimen lately? Let us know at tips@brokensidewalk.com.

A-1 Upholstery Gets Upholstered

By Branden Klayko -

Jun 25, 2008

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Climbing on the East Village gentrification bandwagon, A-1 Upholstery has donned striped awnings to match its recent facade renovation. Located at East Market Street & Campbell Street, the upholstery shop has traded its dingy burnt red hue for a more soothing beige (much needed in light of the ultra-bright Legacy Lofts just down Campbell). The overall scheme lends a much needed tailored look to the far east end of the East Village neighborhood.

West Main Street Bench Art Casualty

Design

By Branden Klayko -

Jun 23, 2008

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One of the limestone benches put in place on West Main Street as part of the EDAW-designed streetscape plan in the 1990s has been partially destroyed. The inset pictured above shows the before and the main image shows the after. The benches were designed to be architecturally didactic, tectonically demonstrating construction methods and materials used in adjacent buildings. The limestone joint holding two bench blocks together shattered when hit by some piece of heavy machinery (quite a bit of construction on this block, but hey… watch where you’re driving on the sidewalk!).

Engraved on the broken bench is the inscription “when the trees are three, the building is masonry.” This bench happened to be sitting in a cluster of three lacebark elm trees denoting that the buildings behind it (now facades for Museum Plaza) had a structure of bricks. A dead bird was laying on the sidewalk several feet away. Dead buildings, dead benches, and dead birds… oh the humanity! We’ll see how long it takes to clean up this mess and make a new bench… any bets?

Snapshot: ZirMed Tower Update

By Branden Klayko -

Jun 23, 2008

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Here is your update from the liveliest project in town… the ZirMed Gateway Towers. The height is starting to make Market feel like an actual Street.