The Paristown Preservation Trust wants to build a $249 million mixed-use project on more than 11 acres of abandoned land near downtown Louisville.
Louisville’s city government owns much of the land and has been negotiating for years with developers to revitalize the site of the Paristown Point neighborhood that was vacated in 2016. Now the city government is proposing to create a tax incremental financing (TIF) district for the land.
Through the TIF, the Paristown Preservation Trust would recoup 80% of the property tax revenue on the site above its base tax assessment value, a mechanism intended to give developers an incentive to work on the site and increase property values.
Plans for the site’s development estimate that the Paristown Preservation Trust could collect up to $20.3 million in property taxes over the 20-year life of the TIF.
Last month, a Louisville City Council committee took a split vote to move forward with an ordinance approving a controversial development plan and TIF district, but the measure stalled Thursday when the full council voted to send the ordinance back to the Labor, Economic Development and Appropriations Committee.
Committee Chairman Philip Baker, a Democrat whose district includes the Urban Government Center site, briefly spoke in favor of the move, saying at the meeting that Louisville city government needs to change its ordinance.
Baker did not immediately respond to a request for details Friday.
But even if the Metro Council ultimately votes in favor of the ordinance, the project could face a potential roadblock: On Tuesday, a group of residents announced they would take legal action if the TIF is approved without their desired amendments.
The effort is being spearheaded by local architect and historian Steve Weiser, who argues that Louisville officials have allowed the Paristown Preservation Foundation to circumvent requirements that the city set out in a request for proposals when it sought interest in the site in 2020.
Weiser argues that the developer’s original proposal met those requirements, but that the current plans violate those standards in several ways, including the proposed demolition of the former Kentucky Baptist Hospital building on the site. Weiser also believes the developer is trying to create a project that is too large for the surrounding area.
He cited a state law that says local governments must reissue a request for proposals (RFP) if terms change during negotiations with interested vendors. Though negotiations on the Urban Government Center RFP ended four years ago, Weiser argued that the law applies to ongoing negotiations between Louisville Metro and the developer, and that the city was in violation of it.
“That’s our [potential] “What’s the point of a lawsuit?” Weiser said.
He suggested the city and the Paristown Preservation Trust have ways to avoid litigation, such as using their original proposal or scrapping the TIF.
“If they go back to their 2020 proposal, they could start construction on that project today,” Weiser said.
The Paristown Preservation Foundation wants to take over the long-vacant government building site and is seeking tax incentives to make its plans possible.
Louisville attorney Steve Porter is working with residents to oppose the plan. Porter has represented residents in a variety of zoning and development battles, including a high-profile but unsuccessful fight against Topgolf at Oxmoor Center.
“At this point, if they’re going to go with something completely different than the original RFP, they need to put that out there for the rest of the community and other developers to say, ‘We’ll do that too,’ and they haven’t done that,” Porter said.
The City of Louisville Economic Development Department has released a 2020 RFP and is negotiating with developers through the Economic Development Office.
Cabinet spokeswoman Kaitlyn Bowling declined to comment on the potential litigation but made clear in an emailed statement Wednesday that the city supports redevelopment of the Urban Government Center site.
“The Paristown Preservation Foundation has committed to making a variety of community contributions, including incorporating native plant life, constructing a playground, removing environmental hazards from the site and including 55 units of affordable housing in the development,” Bowling said in an emailed statement Wednesday.
The Paristown Preservation Foundation said in a statement Wednesday that it has “invested millions of dollars in the adjacent Paristown Arts District” and continues to “work collaboratively with elected officials and community leaders to create the housing and green space people want.”
Metro Council’s Labor, Economic Development and Appropriations Committee is next scheduled to meet Tuesday at 3 p.m., and the proposed ordinance is among many items on the agenda.
