April 2007
Welcome to eFYI,
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 $50 million
showcase on Main Street
Officials
expect more downtown projects
Study details
city's immigrant population
Kentucky
among top states for new, expanded businesses
$1 million
gained for bike path
Queen will
attend the Derby
$200 million
for Ford approved
$50 million
showcase on Main Street
A block of
century-old buildings that was once the heart of Louisville's
downtown whisky district will be transformed into a $50
million commercial showplace with offices and retail stores
selling clothing, jewelry and furniture. Read
more.
That's what investor Todd Blue sees with his
"Iron Quarter" project -- a 12- to 14-story glass and steel
complex to be built near the planned downtown arena.
Iron Quarter, which will take its name from the
cast-iron building facades prevalent in the block bounded by
First, Main, Second and Washington streets, will include an
office tower with 110,000 square feet; a 120,000-square-foot
retail center with upscale boutique stores, restaurants, cafes
and coffee shops; and a two-level, 500-space parking garage. Read
more.
The Iron Quarter,
which is set to open in spring 2010, will be at the doorstep
of Louisville's new $450 million arena and hotel development
when the first jumpshot swishes through the net at Second and
Main streets later that year. Read
more.
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Officials expect
more downtown projects
The $50
million Iron Quarter development on West Main Street will not
be the last significant investment in downtown Louisville
spurred by the planned $400 million arena complex according to
city officials.
The prediction came at a news
conference at which plans were formally announced for
developer Todd Blue's shopping and office project on the north
side of Main between First and Second streets.
Metro
Mayor Jerry Abramson called Blue a "visionary" and said he
expects more projects around the arena site to be announced in
the next 12 to 18 months. The arena is to be built at Second
and
Main
streets.
Both projects are
expected to open in 2010. Read
more.
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Study details
city's immigrant population
According
to a study released by the Urban Institute, a Washington-based
research organization, Louisville's immigrant population is
growing at a much faster rate than the nation's; is more
diverse than the nation's foreign-born population as a whole;
has fewer undocumented residents (those who entered the United
States illegally) and is better educated than their national
counterparts. Read
more.
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Kentucky
among top states
for new, expanded businesses
According
to Site Selection magazine, 175 companies either moved to
Kentucky
or embarked on
major expansion projects in the state in 2006.
That was enough
for the magazine, which publishes expansion planning
information for corporate executives, to rank
Kentucky
13th in its list of
the top states, ranked by number of projects.
The magazine
defined a project as a new or expanded business that has $1
million or more in private investment, creates 50 or more new
jobs, or is 20,000 square feet or more. Read
more.
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$1 million gained
for bike path
The city
has secured about $1 million in federal grants to begin
planning a seven-mile bikeway along
River
Road
from near
Zorn
Avenue
to U.S. 42.
The
entire project is estimated to cost $5 million to $7 million
and probably will be completed in phases over five
years.
The project was among numerous suggestions from
a bicycle task force that grew out of a
Louisville
"Bicycle Summit"
two years ago. Read
more.
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Queen will attend
the Derby
Her
country gave birth to the first
Derby
in horse racing.
Now, Queen
Elizabeth II of
England
will become
the first sitting British monarch to attend the most famous
horse race in the colonies -- the Kentucky Derby.
Buckingham
Palace
announced that
the queen and her husband, Prince Philip, will attend the
132nd running of the race on May 5. Read
more.
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$200 million for
Ford approved
A bill
that would make $200 million available to Ford Motor Co. to
upgrade its two
Louisville
plants is on its
way to Governor Ernie Fletcher.
The House gave final
legislative approval to House Bill 536, which is intended to
help save the more than 8,000 jobs at the two
factories.
Under the bill, if Ford made two separate
investments of $100 million each, it could recover up to $150
million -- plus whatever it can claim from $40 million in
unused tax credits under previous agreements with the state.
The bill also includes $10 million in job-training money. Read
more.
This recently approved plan to spend millions
to keep a business marks an escalation in the state-vs.-state
competition for jobs.
Some argue it portends a very
expensive future in job retention for
Kentucky
and other states.
But
Kentucky
officials have said
the incentives may be vital in keeping the Louisville Assembly
Plant opened. Read
more.
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