Does Louisville need a new hotel tower?

We talk about Louisville's hotel needs on this week's Access Louisville podcast — specifically in light of a proposed new 27-story hotel tower in Downtown Louisville.

Louisville Business First was first to report New York City-based commercial real estate developer Zyyo’s plans to construct the $175 million tower, which would sit at 140, 138 and 136 West Market Street. The site is across from the future Canopy by Hilton hotel, which is another Zyyo development that is currently under construction.

Louisville has about 23,000 rooms while regional neighbor Nashville has more than 50,000, according to Cleo Battle, Louisville Tourism President and CEO. Indianapolis has about 40,000. Columbus, Ohio is north of 30,000.

The reaction to the tower plans from city leaders like Battle have been favorable, though the comment section on LBF's Facebook page has been critical (Wait!? People on the internet are mad about something?)

In addition to the tower plans, we also chat about some restaurant news including plans for Le Moo founder Kevin Grangier's next steakhouse. It's going in the aforementioned Canopy by Hilton, actually. We also chat about plans for a new Craft House Pizza location in Louisville; as well as a new wine bar that's moving into La Grange. And we get into some fresh tourism numbers and talk about a lofty goal set by Louisville Tourism.

Access Louisville is a weekly podcast from Louisville Business First. You can find it on popular podcast services, including Apple Podcasts and Spotify.