Colonial Gardens is making a comeback. Mayor Greg Fischer joined Metro Council members to announce that construction is scheduled to begin on the $5 million redevelopment of historic Colonial Gardens in south Louisville.
The adaptive reuse project includes renovating the 7,000-square-foot historic Colonial Gardens building, as well as adding three new, one-story buildings for a total of 18,000-square-feet that will share a common patio and garden area.
“Giving new life to historic structures like Colonial Gardens helps give Louisville an authentic quality of place like no other city, and our unique character is one of the things that helps draw millions of tourists to our city every year. And that’s a huge boost to our economy,” the Mayor says.
Citizens sought successfully to designate the iconic Colonial Gardens building, located across from Iroquois Park, as a local landmark in 2008. The city purchased the property in 2013 to help foster its commercial redevelopment.
“This is one of the largest economic development projects that south Louisville has seen in some time,” says Councilwoman Marianne Butler, District 15. “This is a development that will transform this tired corner into a vibrant community spot and show other developers that investing in south Louisville is a win.”
The site’s developer, Underhill Associates, is in talks with local restaurant groups to occupy the four corner spaces of the building, located on the corner of Kenwood Avenue and New Cut Road, and a common beer garden area.
“The decaying building of Colonial Gardens has epitomized south Louisville’s unrequited demand for economic investment for far too long. In the shadow of the majestic Iroquois Amphitheater, the two buildings illustrate the dichotomy of who our community has been and who our community can be,” says Metro Council President David Yates, District 25. “Once complete, Colonial Gardens will be a win-win for our city and the good people of South Louisville.”
Post Construction Company is expected to begin construction on the property in early 2018, with a completion date of spring 2019.
