Truth To Power | Urban Government Center Redevelopment | Paristown Green | 7-9-21

Join us this week for a community conversation about the fate of the surplus Urban Government Center and the Paristown Green redevelopment proposal which is now in peril due to Louisville Metro's unwillingness to invest the matching funds necessary to move the project forward with all of the historic preservation and community benefits the city and neighbors have asked for.

Joining Forward Radio programmer and Paristown Pointe homeowner, Justin Mog, are neighbors Sean Sinnott and Nick Mellen, along with Martina Kunnecke from Neighborhood Planning & Preservation, retired architect Steve Wiser, and two representatives of the Paristown Green project, Jeff Underhill and Sheri Rose, CEO / Executive Director of the Thrive Center Inc. (http://www.thrivecenterky.org).

From the beginning, Underhill Associates (https://underhillassociates.com/) has committed to bringing about $50M to the project and have asked the city for 20% match. Due to new demands from the city, that funding gap now has grown to $13.7 million, or about 23% of the project’s $58.9 million cost. Underhill has proposed using the city budget or American Rescue Plan Act funds, but the Fischer administration rebuked that idea in a May letter that gave the company until mid-June to put forth other ideas or it would end negotiations. What is needed now is the approval of 14 of the 26 Metro Council reps to direct investment to the project.

Louisville Metro Council’s Budget Committee has released a schedule for an initial committee meeting and public hearings on Louisville’s use of American Rescue Plan Coronavirus Local Fiscal Recovery (“ARP”) Funds. Louisville Metro is receiving $388 million and more than $340 Million has yet to be appropriated. In the next two weeks, the committee will have three hearings across the community to take public comments about the use of ARP funds. Speakers may sign up before the start of each meeting to speak for a maximum of five minutes. The meeting schedule is:
Saturday, July 17th, 11am - 1pm at UofL's ShelbyHurst Campus, Founders Union Building - Meeting Room 201, 9001 Shelbyville Road
Monday, July 19th, 6:30-8:30pm, Southwest Regional Library, 9725 Dixie Highway
Monday, July 26th, 6-8pm, West Broadway Church of Christ, 3921 West Broadway
An online form for written comments is also available at https://louisvilleky.wufoo.com/forms/zmw8u5j0366emk/

WDRB covered some of the costs and frustrations associated with the city's failure to move the redevelopment project forward:
https://www.wdrb.com/in-depth/public-costs-grow-as-urban-government-center-site-remains-vacant/article_81171c1e-db5f-11eb-999a-0fbdd500f177.html

The Citizens' Coalition 4 Land Use Reform is a metro-wide group which has been monitoring Metro's questionable land use patterns since last autumn. They are raising public awareness (and response) to development that does not serve the community well. Their bimonthly meeting occurs every other Tuesday in the evening by Zoom. The whole community is invited to sit in, listen and learn as neighborhood advocates describe their challenges with subpar development proposals. The next is scheduled for Tuesday July 13 at 5:30pm, the again on July 27th. To get involved, contact Martina Kunnecke at [email protected].

On Truth to Power each week, we gather Forward Radio programmers and friends to discuss the state of the world, the nation, the state, and the city! It's a community conversation like you won't hear anywhere else!

Truth to Power airs every Friday at 9pm, Saturday at 11am, and Sunday at 4pm on Louisville's grassroots, community radio station, Forward Radio 106.5fm WFMP and live streams at forwardradio.org