If you've spent any time in Paristown Pointe or the Highlands, you've probably seen the massive, empty buildings between Barret Avenue and Vine Street. The property is enclosed by chain-link fencing, and tall grass covers much of the exposed concrete. A huge smokestack dominates the center of the property — it's tough to get lost in this area if you can spot it.

This is the Urban Government Center, a ~10-acre city-owned property that served as offices for Louisville Metro Government for decades until it was abandoned in 2016. The site includes:

The former Kentucky Baptist Hospital building, which originally opened in 1924
A former Louisville Metro Police substation
An office building, which formerly housed part of the Louisville Metro Housing authority
A ~76,000 sqft parking lot along Vine Street

Over the last eight years, there have been several attempts to build on the property — a lot of developments on this development — so here's a quick debrief to get you up to speed.

How we got here

Since the Metro Government moved out of the offices, there have been multiple attempts to redevleop the property:

2017: Metro Government reached an agreement with Louisville-based developer The Marian Group to renovate the property with townhomes, shotgun-style homes, and other middle housing options.
2019: That agreement fell through.
2020: The city put out another solicitation of interest. It received two responses and selected Underhill Associates, which had similar plans to install housing on the abandoned property.
2021: Metro Government terminated the Underhill agreement after the developer failed to identify private funding for gaps in its budget. In December, the other applicant — the Paristown Preservation Trust — signed a development agreement with Louisville Metro Government.
2022: The Paristown Preservation Trust released a $183 million plan for the property that included office space, a hotel, a dog park, and cottage-style homes. At the time, the developer hoped to break ground in January 2023.
2023: The site was rezoned, paving the way for demolition once funding was secured.

The current situation

On Thursday, Sept. 19, the Louisville Metro Council approved $20 million in Tax Increment Financing — aka TIF — for the project in a 17-7 vote. The deal would allow the developer to keep up to $20 million of the taxes the project would generate, if the development meets certain agreed-upon critera + minimums.this is SO well written!

Paristown Preservation Trust's current $249 million plans for the Urban Government Center include:

~200 apartments + condominiums
~200 senior living units
80,000-165,000 sqft of office + commercial space
Hotel with with 80 to 100 rooms + five rooftop condominiums
Public green space
Parking garage with space for at least 400 vehicles

A construction timeline for the project is still TBD. The current plans call for most of the buildings on the site — including the old Kentucky Baptist Hospital building and the former police substation — to be demolished.