Louisville/So Indiana Development News

[LouisvilleS]

7-home, elevated development planned for U.S. 42

Planning officials say they've never seen a local subdivision like this

By Bill Pike
bpike@courier-journal.com
The Courier-Journal



Planning officials say they've never seen a local subdivision like the one Panacea development proposes off U.S. 42, just north of Interstate 71.

Panacea wants to build seven large homes on a site so steep and otherwise constrained that everything to be constructed -- houses, driveways and a road -- would be elevated on piers.

The 4.1-acre wooded site at 6411 U.S. 42 has slopes as steep as 60 percent. Goose Creek flows through a corner of the site, some of which is in the 100-year flood plain. No construction would be in the floodplain, but some would be above it.

The constraints make the proposal "a first," said Brian Davis, a planner with Louisville Metro Planning & Design Services who is monitoring Panacea's application.

"An ordinary subdivision couldn't go on that site," Davis said. "I've never seen anything developed like this."

The land-use committee of the Louisville Metro Planning Commission recently approved a six-month extension of an earlier approval of Panacea's proposal. Panacea, led by Concessa Ford, claims the unique design required engineers to spend extra time surveying the site, analyzing its soil and identifying trees to be preserved.

The approval would have lapsed on April 13. The extension gives Panacea until Oct. 13 to get development under way.

David Johnson, an engineer with the Metropolitan Sewer District who reviewed the subdivision's drainage plans, said the proposed subdivision is unique. "You see projects like this in the mountains in North Carolina, but not here," Johnson said.

Meme Runyon -- executive director of River Fields, a conservation organization -- said the project could set "a dangerous precedent" by allowing construction in other areas on steep slopes in the flood plain.

In 2005, the Louisville Metro Board of Zoning Adjustment approved variances and waivers the subdivision needed, mostly because of environmental constraints. To be called Terrace Place, the subdivision did not need a zoning or form-district change.

No one spoke against the proposal during the land-use committee's review of Panacea's request for an extension. Jill Mueller, who lives on Woodstone Way, asked that construction workers not disturb a nature preserve that borders the site.

Jim Ward, who is helping design the subdivision, told the committee that fencing to be erected during construction would protect the 26-acre preserve, which is part of Woodstone subdivision.

In an interview later, Ward said the piers would answer what he called the big question about Terrace Place: "How can we protect the hill and allow people to live there?"

Houses would have three floors, prices of $1 million to $1.2 million and decks at tree level. Their architecture would be minimalist, Ward said.

Each house will be situated to protect the natural features of its lot, including trees. Practically no grading will be needed, Ward said. "We don't want to move an earthworm if we don't have to," he said.

Driveways and the road providing access to U.S. 42 will be constructed of pre-cast concrete slabs with heating tubes inside to melt snow and ice.

Ward said some of the inspiration for Terrace Place came from Fallingwater, a Pennsylvania home over a waterfall that Frank Lloyd Wright designed in 1935. Fallingwater dramatized how a house can be integrated into its natural setting.

But following Wright's famous example isn't easy. Ward said he attempted four subdivisions similar to Terrace Place, but none worked out for various reasons. Those proposals were in Colorado; Florida; Edwardsville, Ind.; and Pippa Passes, Ky.

"But this time we've got it," Ward said. "This time we're going to do it."

[orangecard]

At least we are heading in the right direction. I would like to see more substantial growth though.

Louisville population grew 5 percent from 2000 to 2006
Business First of Louisville - 8:24 AM EDT Friday, April 6, 2007
The Louisville-Jefferson County metro area added 59,800 residents from April 1, 2000, to July 1, 2006, the 57th largest numerical gain of the nation's 361 metro areas, according to population estimates released Thursday by the U.S. Census Bureau.

The population grew to 1.22 million in 2006 from 1.16 million in 2000.

Atlanta experienced the greatest population growth, 21 percent, over the six-year period.

Louisville was the 42nd most populous metro area in the nation based on July 1, 2006, population estimates.

Expectedly, New York City was the most populous metro area, with 18.8 million people, followed by Los Angeles (13 million) and Chicago (9.5 million).

[Cardpooch]

Louisville's growth is doing fine....

Luckily Jefferson County is not experiencing the mass exodus found in some urban counties such as Cincinnati's Hamilton. This only makes further urban improvements more difficult in those areas.

Then there's the whole 'why aren't we growing like Indy or Nashville?' argument. My response.......who cares?

I'll take quality over quantity. Despite those cities having much higher growth rates, Louisville's current line up of urban projects is doing just fine when compared to it's neighboring cities. Why? Because downtown Louisville doesn't have a Franklin or a Carmel to compete against. There's also no doubt that St. Louis' Clifton area has had a huge impact on development in the downtown area.

And I will point something else out. This growth is occurring without pro sports and without new upscale retail. Something which many people (including those in Louisville) have noted as a reason Louisville should be considered more of a second tier city.

You mean to tell me a city can reinvent itself without copying what everyone else has already done? shocking!

Given all of the transformations that are currently underway in Louisville, I'll take the 5% growth with a big fat

[DaVilleisGr8]

The growth news doesn't bother me for a couple reasons. One, it is positive for all counties. Two, these are just estimates. We won't really know what kind of growth we have seen for a few years. Three, I do not believe in massive growth. Sure, if Louisville had Las Vegas' growth I might be on here beating my chest about how great we are. But, I firmly believe that kind of growth dilutes the existing character of the area, and impedes the quality of life by straining the infrastructure. Furthermore, that kind of growth is usually predominantly suburban. While strong suburban growth isn't always a bad thing, as it adds more people to the area, it isn't the best way to grow. Anyway, as long as Louisville moves forward, and continues at it's development pace, the census estimates do not bother me.

[bolenmeister]

Originally Posted by orangecard

At least we are heading in the right direction. I would like to see more substantial growth though.

Louisville population grew 5 percent from 2000 to 2006
Business First of Louisville - 8:24 AM EDT Friday, April 6, 2007
The Louisville-Jefferson County metro area added 59,800 residents from April 1, 2000, to July 1, 2006, the 57th largest numerical gain of the nation's 361 metro areas, according to population estimates released Thursday by the U.S. Census Bureau.

The population grew to 1.22 million in 2006 from 1.16 million in 2000.

Atlanta experienced the greatest population growth, 21 percent, over the six-year period.

Louisville was the 42nd most populous metro area in the nation based on July 1, 2006, population estimates.

Expectedly, New York City was the most populous metro area, with 18.8 million people, followed by Los Angeles (13 million) and Chicago (9.5 million).

qell whats the growth of these other cities, i mean is louisville really growing slower than cincinnati, that would shock me! well, what are indianpolis and nashville growth rates? i agree, i have been to indy and i really didnt like it that much, i actually had a job offer there and declined it, lately i have been thinking the perfect city for me is austin but i have come to like louisville since moving here and it is really starting to impress me, im surprised its only growing at that rate. i noticed the census has their main office here, maybe it is more accurate for louisville bc of that and maybe overestimates some other areas? i dunno the most annoying thing about louisville is that many ppl here dont seem that confident in it ye t (i am talking like people i work with). I work downtown and asked people some stores they would want to see in that new iron quarter and i mentioned tiffany and urban outfitters and crate and barrel and they said they didnt think lville could support those stores.

[Cashville]

^ MSA estimates for 2006

Indianapolis 1,525,104 1,666,032 9.2%
Louisville 1,162,409 1,222,216 5.1%
Cincinnati 2,009,673 2,104,218 4.7%
Nashville 1,311,789 1,455,097 10.9%

http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/...ea-table_N.htm

[arenn]

Reposting figures here for ease of reference. As you can see, Louisville is actually growing faster than Cincinnati.

Midwest Metros Over 1 million:
Indianapolis: 9.2%
Kansas City: 7.1%
Columbus: 7.0%
Minneapolis: 6.9%
Cincinnati: 4.7%
Chicago: 4.5% (huge in absolute number terms though)
St. Louis: 3.6%
Milwaukee: 0.6%
Detroit: 0.4%
Cleveland: (1.6%)

Here's how some similar sized metros in other regions did:

South:
Raleigh: 24.8%
Orlando: 20.7%
Charlotte: 19.0%
Jacksonville: 13.8%
Nashville: 10.9%
Memphis: 5.8%
Louisville: 5.1%
Birmingham: 4.3%
New Orleans: (22.2%)

West:
Las Vegas: 29.2%
Austin: 21.1%
Sacramento: 15.0%
San Antonio: 13.5%
Portland: 10.9%
Denver: 10.5%
Salt Lake City: 10.2%
Oklahoma City: 7.0%

Other:
Hartford: 3.5%

[arenn]

Well, a few of my random thoughts on this.

Firstly, there is no doubt that if Louisville were a growth leader, everyone on on this board would be touting it, so let's not dismiss these figures. Still, Louisville's growth trajectory is on an up trend, which is certainly positive news. There are a lot of good things going on as well, including the fantastic Museum Plaza.

Louisville to me as always been a sort of place on the border. It's on the border of the Midwest and the South. It's on the border of being a Cincy class city vs. a Dayton class city. It's one of those places that could just end up going either way depending on how you look at it.

I personally don't believe size matters all that much in being a great or even world class city. I believe Geneva, Switzerland is much smaller than Louisville, for example. Many smaller European cities are nevertheless widely admired by the world. My thought is that Louisville should aspire to be a Geneva not a Paris. Be the best at what it is without concerning too much about what it isn't.

I predict that the city of Louisville has about 10-15 year window of having its day in the sun in terms of regional dominance. It needs to make the most of that to both complete key initiatives like the City of Parks, and also to build better relationships with its suburban areas. What do I mean by this? Well, as someone noted, Louisville doesn't have a Carmel to compete with. But you can believe that won't be the case forever. Indianapolis provides a roadmap for what Louisville can expect. City-county merger made Indy the dominant force - until it filled up its home county and growth kept going outside the boundaries. Louisville can expect the same. In a sense, merger happened in Louisville just when it ceased to matter. It won't be long before all the residents of Jefferson County are central city dwellers, just like the erstwhile Marion County suburbs of Indy, which are now facing their own take on urban ills.

When places like Oldham County really start coming into their own, that's when the city of Louisville is going to have a problem on its hands. As I say, I think that day is about 10-15 years out.

Louisville has an interesting situation where it is surrounded by mostly rural nothingness. I'm talking about places like Crawford County, Indiana. This means it must rely on the core for population. But it also creates a huge jobs draw into Louisville. It doesn't surprise me that Louisville is a national leader in exurban commuting. This is a potential base on which Louisville could build extensive connections fairly far out into its commuter shed. It wouldn't surprise me to see several more counties added to the Louisville MSA in the next Census because of this.

[rhkimb02]

If you walk on the bike/running path along the river just west of Downtown (goes along rail road tracks) you will see what a great opportunity there is for an awesome extension of waterfront park.....whcih surely would lead to more revitalization efforts in west louisville.

[Insighter]

It's possible that the census has undercounted Louisville's metro. For instance the Nashville figures given above are already known to have omitted the 35K Davidson residents that were revised up in January of this year. As Nashvillians found out in 2000, the midcensus numbers were 40-50 thousand less than the actual (official) count ultimately showed. Maybe Louisville is similar to Nashville, which is notoriously slack in keeping up between decennial counts.

[eweezerinc]

Louisville's combined major projects are starting to add up to a pretty impressive and international-looking list.


Museum Plaza

703ft/61 floors
Residential, Office/Retail, Westin Hotel, Contemporary Art Museum
COMPLETE: 2010










RiverPark Place

PHASE ONE:Two towers/16 floors
Residential, Marina
COMPLETE: 2010









MASTER PLAN






Downtown Bridge

center tower- 210ft
COMPLETE: 2020










Downtown Arena

Will house the University of Louisville men's and women's basketball teams
Arena, Hotel, Retail
COMPLETE: 2010






Iron Quarter

12-20+ (floor/height undetermined)
Office, Retail
COMPLETE: 2010








Zirmed Gateway Towers

12 and 10 floors
Office, Retail
COMPLETE: 2008









LOUISVILLE 2010

[eweezerinc]

Holy crap. Northern Kentucky is pumping things up. Take a look at this video:

http://www.gbbn.com/Markets/Housing/...Redevelopment/

That site has several projects going on in Covington, Newport, and Bellevue that are wildly urban and high-quality. Kentucky's seeing some seriously bright light at the end of the tunnel.

[rhkimb02]

Blooming blocks on Main

By Marcus Green
magreen@courier-journal.com
The Courier-Journal



Years of neglect are obvious along this historic part of Louisville's Main Street -- faded ironwork facades, boarded-up windows, crumbling buildings.

But with a multipurpose arena and a $50 million retail and office complex planned nearby, some suggest the stage is set for a larger revitalization of the stretch of Main once home to the city's bustling whiskey businesses.



It is an area between Louisville Slugger Field and the proposed arena where, in recent years, private investment has crept west from the baseball park but largely avoided the blocks just east of the Clark Memorial Bridge at Second Street.

"It's the last frontier of Main Street" in downtown, said Aaron Mueller, whose Beta Brothers partnership renovated the Belknap Garage, across the street from businessman Todd Blue's "Iron Quarter" project, as a site where a retail and restaurant project is planned.

City officials call Iron Quarter a "sports-anchored" development -- a project launched as a result of the $450 million arena complex at Second and Main streets. Mayor Jerry Abramson expects additional investment because of the arena, which is scheduled to be completed in 2010.

The model, Abramson said, is the trend that has occurred near Louisville Slugger Field with projects such as the $27 million Fleur-de-lis and $12 million Preston Pointe condominium buildings.

"You eat an elephant one bite at a time. And so we're coming at it from both sides -- from Preston Street going west and from Second Street going east," Abramson said.

In announcing his project last month, Blue challenged other property owners.

"I encourage you to do what we've done and step up and develop your properties, because it's an exciting opportunity in downtown Louisville," he said.

Already, there are signs of what the future may hold.

Two buildings considered prime for new development -- the seven-story former Arctic Ice building and an adjacent five-story former warehouse on the north side of Main -- are for sale. The Arctic Ice building is under contract, according to the Walter Wagner Jr. Co., which is marketing the properties.

"We feel that developers are very interested in that area of Main Street for condos, lofts and … future retail," Wagner's office said in a statement.

Meanwhile, entrepreneurs are paying a premium for property in the area.

Last summer, the investors behind the popular Highlands bars Flanagan's Ale House and O'Shea's paid more than four times the assessed value of a building on the same block as Blue's project. They plan to open an upscale pub there within the next year.

Iron Quarter is billed as a high-end project: 110,000 square feet will house boutique shops, cafes, a coffee shop and an ice cream parlor. The historic facades will be incorporated into a design that includes a 12- to 14-story glass and steel structure. Blue has said the name reflects Main Street's traditional cast-iron storefronts and also that the Blue family made its fortune in the metals and scrap industry.

Ben Ruiz, an advertising executive who works on Main, said he welcomes the project.

"Now we'll have this convenient location with a bunch of shops and a bunch of other retail establishments in there," Ruiz said. "It's going to revitalize everything."

But those developments would contrast with established light commercial, wholesaling and other businesses along Main. In interviews, officials with several companies said they don't intend to move.

Jack Guthrie, president of Louisville's Main Street Association, said existing companies and new development can co-exist, but he expects businesses to get handsome offers to sell out as real estate prices rise.

Calvin H. Marcus Jr.'s family has owned the Marcus Paint Co. since 1853. Marcus said the company uses a Main Street building to store raw materials for making paint and has no plans to move its operations.

But, he said, "I figure our property will be in demand."

Progress Paint Manufacturing Co. moved to a factory on East Market Street from its plant near Ninth and Main streets in the late 1990s. Noel Booker, the company's president, said Progress has received "a handful of calls" about its property, which runs from Market to Main along Brook Street, but he said it would be difficult to move.

Since a task force announced that the arena, which will serve as the home of University of Louisville basketball teams, would be built on Main near the Clark Memorial Bridge, Burwell Marshall III has been in talks with four groups interested in properties he owns.

Marshall has seven parcels of land on Main Street, including the buildings housing Zena's Café and the Big City Styles barbershop, across from the Iron Quarter site.

"These people are looking at everything I own and trying to decide what to do," Marshall said.

Steve Schoch's family sold a building that had housed the Schoch Heating Supply Co. at 123 W. Main to a group headed by Tom and Michael O'Shea and David Zimmerman, the owners of O'Shea's and Flanagan's on Baxter Avenue. The property had been assessed at about $136,000 in 2004 and sold for $600,000.

"The arena did enhance the value of our property," Schoch said.

Plans call for a pub off Main and banquet rooms on the second floor, said Bruce Jarrett, a co-owner of Brendan's, the investors' St. Matthews bar. Future uses may include a sports bar accessible from Washington Street, which is envisioned by Blue as a promenade leading to the arena.

The group had been looking at the Main Street location before the arena debate escalated in 2005, Tom O'Shea said.

"The arena definitely helped put us over the edge, though," he said. "There's no doubt about that."

The changes occurring on East Main mirror what happened on West Main starting in the 1970s, as developers found new uses for buildings in an old mercantile district.

Blue said he hopes the neighborhood around Iron Quarter continues to be diverse, with retail, light commercial, sports and entertainment facilities and office space.

"That's exactly what creates a neighborhood," Blue said. "That is what makes it exciting and urban and different."

Reporter Marcus Green can be reached at (502) 582-4675.

[rhkimb02]

http://www.courier-journal.com/apps/...4090411&Ref=AR

[JTS LOU]

[Jeff_of_Dayton]

I personally don't believe size matters all that much in being a great or even world class city. I believe Geneva, Switzerland is much smaller than Louisville, for example. Many smaller European cities are nevertheless widely admired by the world. My thought is that Louisville should aspire to be a Geneva not a Paris. Be the best at what it is without concerning too much about what it isn't.

Excellent post....a healthy provincialism. The comparison with Swiss cities (German and Italian ones would work as well) is really how Louisvillians should approach urbanity, and I think this might be what is going on, unconciously.

[Cardpooch]

The problem is that most people are more concerned with being more like Indianapolis (more upscale shopping downtown) or Nashville (pro sports franchises). A VERY narrow viewpoint of the world. While there is nothing wrong with the way these cities have developed their downtowns, there are countless other ways the same thing can be done. The key is to understand your own key strengths as a city and capitalize on that.

I agree that Louisville should look far and wide to draw inspiration for it's future projects. Would Museum Plaza even exist today if the developers did not travel outside the states to learn of similar installations in Europe and elsewhere? Probably not.

Why?

Because most American cities (especially Louisville's size) wouldn't even give something like this serious consideration. There simply wouldn't be the interest in it.

[rhkimb02]

I hate to admit it, but I was definitely thinking Louisville should aspire to be something it cannot be like (example: Boston, San Fran, even Chicago). After reading what you all said about being content with Louisville's good point.....and then develooping those points....I think it is a good bet to try to figure out what is so unique about Louisville and then accentuate those finer points.. Let me know what you all think those are....

[arenn]

What's great/unique about Louisville?

Firstly the neighborhoods. Lots of great, distinctive neighborhoods.

Second, the parks system is excellent.

Third, is the river.

Fourth, it's unique position straddling the north and south.

Fifth, the schools are decent by comparison with other urban locales.

Sixth, lots of tiny cities. How could this be turned to Louisville's advantage?

Seventh, bi-state metro. Again, a weakness currently, but how to turn it strength?

The things that seem to handicap us can in fact pave the way building great assets. Much like a lot of what we consider awesome ethnic cuisine started out as peasant food.

Consider the example of Central Indiana. Central Indiana is flat as a pancake. They like to moan about how they don't have mountains or a river or whatever. But consider another place that is flat as a pancake and below sea level to boot: the Netherlands. They turned flat land into an asset by becoming the most bicycle friendly society in the world. And they turned the needed drainage systems into cool canals and windmills. It's easy to look in retrospect and say that those things were obvious, but they were probably far from obvious at the time.

I'll admit I haven't thought through what Louisville might look like if it decided to go a different route. If it were obvious, it probably wouldn't be worth doing. But becoming something more like a southern city a la Richmond, Charleston, or Savannah might be a better route than trying to copy every other slow growth Midwest competitor.

I'm not anti-development. I think that Museum Plaza is just stunning, for example. But a city like Louisville is outgunned versus competitors in terms of population and corporate/financial resources. Plus with its difficult relationship with the state of Kentucky, this makes it difficult to say the least to play in the stadium, convention, etc. game where in each new round it costs hundreds of millions just to call.

Just a few initial off the cuff thoughts.

[eweezerinc]

I think that some of the things Louisville is doing right now are exactly what needs to happen in order for it to be a unique city with its own version of growth. Museum Plaza is nothing like what other cities have done or are doing. Its unique to Louisville and helps to build on one of Louisville's great strengths: Art
The same goes for RPP, I think. It is accentuating Waterfront Park and the asset that it grew from: the Ohio River

I for one am thankful that Louisville isn't growing insanely because if it were, that would mean extreme amounts of sprawl. All the southern cities with major population gains may be seeing a lot of DT development, but equally and(in most cases) more so, they are seeing low-density urban-sprawl. Louisville is still seeing the same types of development, but also a healthy amount of urban development.
An advantage that Louisville has is an established urban fabric. It has been ripped in places, but all in all, it just needs patch work to re-connect the peices. Consider the neighborhoods that surround DT, consider the areas between them and how they bleed from one to the other, and then consider what is being done to sew them back together.

I think one thing that Louisville needs to start focusing on even more is re-attaching its neighborhoods to DT. When you have an area like the Highlands that leads straight into great neighborhoods like Phoenix Hill and Butchertown, the possibilities are terribly exciting. Yet, I feel that there is little effort to try and bridge these vibrant corridors to DT. It is being left up to developers to slowly inch the areas towards eachother, without any active encouragement from the surrounding residents and council-members.
But I am optomistic about the future of this re-connecting effort because of the small steps we can see being taken now.
SoBro and the area west of DT are both being looked at, studied, and evaluated. They both are broken peices of the fabric that were destroyed by neglect and urban renewel. Sobro, in particular, has been paved over, disconnecting DT from Old Louisville, one of the best preserved areas in the city. If the fabric remained unbroken from the CBD all the way to UofL, it could be one of the most incredible urban areas in the entire south. If the efforts to rebuild these transition-blocks are successful, I think we will see similar efforts begin to form in other parts of the city.

If Louisville can gracefully bridge all of its neighborhoods together, to me, the next logical step is mass transit that binds all of the corridors to eachother and, ultimately, downtown.