Louisville Is Just Cool. “ It’S Cool Because the People Who Live There Are Proud of Where They Live, and Are Constantly Working to Make the City the Best It Can Be
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Louisville is just cool. “ It’s cool because the people who live there are proud of where they live, and are constantly working to make the city the best it can be. Whether you’re visiting briefly or have lived there for years, this community spirit is palpable.” — “Top 100 Places to Live,” Livability “It’s not bragging if you can back it up.” — Muhammad Ali Cover photo courtesy: Louisville Tourism The start of a new decade is a great time to review our progress and look ahead. This is something we do regularly at Metro Government, where we believe in learning from the past, living in the present and preparing for the future. That approach, along with hard work and a long list of community partners, has helped produce an incredible economic and cultural renaissance in Louisville. You can see evidence downtown with new landmarks like the Abraham Lincoln Bridge, opened in 2016, Omni Louisville Hotel, opened in 2018, and Lynn Family Stadium, which opens in 2020 as the new home of Louisville City FC and the future home of Proof Louisville FC. You can see this renaissance all over the city, from the Norton Sports Health Athletics & Learning Complex being built in west Louisville, to the restored Colonial Gardens in south Louisville, and the gorgeous trails of the Parklands of Floyds Fork in the east. There are many ways to quantify our city’s progress, including 83,000 new jobs and 3,000 new businesses since 2011, and $15 billion in capital investment since 2014, including about $1 billion in west Louisville. There’s a tremendous sense of optimism here in Louisville, which is emerging as one of the world’s next breakout cities. Over the pages of this report, you’ll see why that is. Like every city, we have challenges, including the need to ensure our success is shared by all. That’s why we’re working to become a city of greater equity and compassion, where everyone in every neighborhood has every chance to reach their full potential. We’ve invested $45 million in affordable housing over the last five years, and we’re working to eliminate disparities in health outcomes among different neighborhoods. We’ve launched initiatives like Lean Into Louisville and the Synergy Project, to help strengthen our city through honest conversations about race, police-community relations and other aspects of our shared history. And we’re working to sharply increase local efforts to address the global climate emergency. Importantly, we’re working with Metro Council, our Governor and the state legislature to resolve the budget challenges resulting from the Kentucky Retirement Systems’ mandated increase in our pension obligation, and to find common ground to pass common-sense legislation to make our city safer. As we have in the past nine years, we will work to meet any challenge and create every opportunity by working together — building the city that the people of Louisville demand and deserve. Thank you for the opportunity to serve as your mayor. 2019 PROGRESS REPORT | 1 Economic Development/Innovation & Technology Building the economy of the future • Microsoft announced Louisville Institute launched Louisville will become one of its regional Data Commons, an open-data hubs for artificial intelligence, website designed to store and Cheers! • Louisville ranked 12th out Internet of Things, and data share data generated by com- of 100+ active cities on the science. munity members and non-prof- Sunlight Foundation’s Open it organizations. • Louisville joined New York, Los Data City Census Angeles, Chicago and 11 cities • Entrepreneur-focused Center • Louisville named No. 5 on as founding members of the by SIDIS — the new home for Financial Times’ Top 10 list Open Mobility Foundation, several innovative businesses of large business-friendly which works to develop open- — officially opened in Nulu. North American cities source urban mobility tools for • Tech company El Toro transportation challenges. announced a new $10.5 • The Louisville Metro Office for million headquarters in Civic Innovation & Technology Nulu, with plans to add 400 and the University of Louisville’s employees, including software Christina Lee Brown Envirome engineers, programmers, data scientists and sales positions. Coming up: The Louisville Fiber Information Technology initiative will expand our fiber network by more than 400 percent — through a $5 million investment in partnership with KentuckyWired — will be completed in 2020. Microsoft partnership signing 2 | LOUISVILLE METRO GOVERNMENT Radically scaling tech talent pipeline • In July, the Mayor announced • KentuckianaWorks • Mayor Fischer took part in creation of LouTechWorks to announced creation of Tech UofL’s announcement of a work more strategically with Louisville, a new IT Support partnership with IBM to create our education, nonprofit and training program funded the IBM Skills Academy, employer partners to rapidly through the AdvancingCities providing training to faculty expand Louisville’s tech talent grant, and located at the Nia in artificial intelligence, pipeline. Center in west Louisville. cybersecurity, Internet of • JPMorgan Chase’s • Code Louisville placed its Things and more. AdvancingCities initiative 400th graduate in a new tech awarded Louisville a $3 million career. The free coding Cheers! grant to boost digital inclusion training program has now • CBRE named Louisville an initiatives in low-income placed participants at more “up-and-coming tech talent neighborhoods and build than 200 companies. market” economic resilience. • SmartAsset listed Louisville among “Top 10 places for new businesses” Tech Louisville 2019 PROGRESS REPORT | 3 Economic Development 3,000 new business, 83,000 new jobs since 2011 $15 billion in capital investment since 2014 • UPS Worldport increased its its investment to its two plants market in Shelby Park. The city commitment to Louisville by in Louisville to $2.95 billion provided a $81,500 facade announcing a $750 million since 2007. loan through METCO, its small investment that will result in • Business owners Mike and business loan program. 1,000 new jobs. Medora Safai transformed • Ford announced a $550 million the old Axton Candy and investment in Louisville in Tobacco Warehouse into the preparation for a new Escape bustling Logan Street Market, and Lincoln Corsair, bringing a 27,000-square-foot urban Cheers! • Louisville was named the fifth most business friendly large American city of the future by fDi Intelligence magazine • Louisville Forward, the city’s economic and community development arm, was recognized for the fifth consecutive year as a “Top Economic Development Group” by Site Selection magazine Logan Street Market 4 | LOUISVILLE METRO GOVERNMENT • Churchill Downs, home of the • Recognizing the growth and • The restored Colonial Gardens Kentucky Derby, is expanding needs in nursing careers, opened across from Iroquois its historic racetrack with a Galen College of Nursing broke Park, bringing exciting new $300 million investment in a ground on a new campus and local restaurants to south new hotel, additional seating national headquarters in east Louisville. and a historical horse-race Louisville. • Spalding University opened a gaming venue. • The University of Louisville seven-acre athletic complex in • International industrial Trager Institute for Optimal Limerick that will be home to engineering group Fives Aging began renovating a new its men’s and women’s soccer Intralogistics Corp. is adding space to accommodate its and softball teams. as many as 370 jobs as part leading-edge research, care of a $15 million expansion coordination, physical and project. mental health clinical practice and educational programming. 2019 PROGRESS REPORT | 5 West Louisville • The Mayor, Louisville Urban • OneWest community League and community leaders development corporation broke ground on the Norton announced an investment Sports Health Athletics & in the former Goldsmith build- Learning Complex, a transfor- ing at the corner of 18th Street mative project coming in 2020 and Broadway to drive com- to the Russell neighborhood. mercial and retail development. • In March, the Mayor joined • Housing Partnership Inc. community members to announced plans to redevelop break ground on Phase 1 of a long vacant warehouse at the Beecher Terrace rede- 1405 W. Broadway into a velopment, transforming it $28 million mixed-use into mixed-income housing, development. funded by a $29.5 million • The city sold the Doerhoefer- Choice Neighborhoods grant. Hampton House to Theta In December, the city received Omega Inc. for its headquar- an additional $4 million federal ters, as well as for office and grant to further the meeting space for the local redevelopment. Omega Psi Phi Fraternity • The Republic Bank Foundation chapter, Omega Psi Phi’s Men YMCA opened at 18th and of Quality Mentoring Initiative, Broadway, a critical inter- and the Summer Leadership section the city realigned to Academy for young men. boost investment in west Louisville. The intersection is also now serviced with TARC’s Bus Rapid Transit line. The Republic Bank Foundation YMCA 6 | LOUISVILLE METRO GOVERNMENT • Louisville Central Community • Cellar Door Chocolates • Louisville Knot, an interactive Center broke ground on the announced it was expanding public art installation, Grand Lyric, a 350-seat operations into the Heine transformed the Ninth Street community theater in Russell. Brothers’ Coffee corporate underpass into a welcoming office in Portland. pedestrian thoroughfare de- signed to help bridge the gap between downtown’s