The Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport has purchased nearly 38 acres of land near its airfield and is considering acquiring about 50 additional acres for future expansion.
The newly acquired property includes the former Brown-Forman Cooperage site and roughly 22 acres of nearby land. Airport officials bought the airfield-adjacent properties, located between the CSX Transportation tracks and Crittenden Drive, in recent months for about $54 million.
“It’s the only property left that the airport could expand into, and that’s really the driver of it,” said Dan Mann, executive director of the Louisville Regional Airport Authority. He noted the airport is largely surrounded by railroad tracks, highways, and the nearby Ford Louisville Assembly Plant.
While development could happen later, existing and potential leases on the land are expected to generate around $3 million annually for the airport.
“There’s no more development at the airport unless we try to acquire some land, and while we’re going through that process, if we can have properties that generate revenue, that is great,” Mann said.
The additional non-aeronautical revenue can help the airport contribute its share—often about 10%—to federal grants or help fund improvements at the terminal.
The land west of the airport was identified as a possible acquisition area in the airport’s 20-year master plan. However, Mann said the sale of the former cooperage property prompted the airport to begin purchasing land.
Brown-Forman Corporation announced in January 2025 that it would close the long-running barrel-making facility as part of several strategic initiatives, including a 12% reduction in its global workforce.
Missouri-based Independent Stave Company purchased the 16-acre property at 402 MacLean Ave. in May 2025 for $13.66 million. At the time, the company said it had no plans to resume production and intended to sell the site later.
The airport eventually bought the property in December for $11.4 million, according to deed records. The airport is temporarily leasing it back to the previous buyer while the facility is being decommissioned. Mann said the land may later be leased to a tenant needing outdoor storage space.
Other recently purchased parcels are already used for warehousing and outdoor storage, and those uses will likely continue.
The airport authority does not currently own the rest of the roughly 86 acres west of the airport. However, Mann said discussions with those property owners could begin within the next year.
“At this point it’s a ‘nice to’ not a ‘need to,’” Mann said about acquiring more land. “With the caveat that, at some point, there could be a public use that could cause us to say, ‘Yeah, we really do have to have these properties,’ but we don’t have that right now.”
As for future development, Mann said there are no immediate projects planned. The land would not likely be used for passenger facilities but could eventually support airport operations. In the next decade, possible uses could include a new aircraft hangar or a maintenance facility.
“Until there is a pressing need where we have to have airfield access, we want to continue to generate revenue with the type of activity that is there now,” Mann said.
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