A historic downtown Louisville property will be transformed into apartments with the help of $1.5 million in public funding.
The $15 million project will create 14 apartments, including two designated as affordable housing units. It marks the second development supported by the Downtown Louisville Building Conversion Program.
The Hubbuch Building, located at 324 W. Main St. and dating back to 1886, will be converted from vacant office space into residential units using public incentives.
Developers plan to turn the building’s four upper floors into 14 apartments, including one- and two-bedroom units and studios. As part of the funding agreement, two of those units will be set aside as affordable housing. The upper floors, previously used as office space, have been vacant in recent years.
The project, which includes both acquisition and renovation costs, will total $15 million and also feature expanded retail space on the ground floor.
Construction is expected to begin this summer, with the first residents anticipated by summer 2027, according to Lee Weyland, partner at CORE Real Estate Partners and Weyland Ventures.
Current ground-floor tenant In Season Harvest Kitchen will remain in place. Developers have not yet secured an additional retail tenant, though possibilities include a tequila bar or a smaller retail shop.
Plans also include space for a first-floor office tenant, which has yet to be finalized. The building’s façade will be updated with less brick and more glass to increase natural light.
Weyland said the redevelopment has been in progress for several years, with developers officially acquiring the building in February for $3.2 million.
Louisville-based Wilkinson Builders is leading the project in partnership with Weyland and local entrepreneur Bobby Bailey.
“Fourth and Main, downtown Louisville, is a hard to beat location,” Weyland said. “It’s got a great facade, great windows … this is a wider building, so it gives us more natural light into the building, creates better living spaces.”
The conversion program, launched in December 2024, has also awarded $3 million to a separate $28 million project that will convert the Fiscal Court Building at 531 Court Place into 106 apartments.
During an April 16 news conference, Mayor Craig Greenberg said progress continues on that project, though construction—initially expected to begin by the end of 2025—has been delayed.
“The work that’s going on is really doing the final understanding the structure and what’s behind all the walls,” Greenberg said. “When you’re doing historic renovation projects, you need to try to expose as many of the surprises before construction begins in earnest … I’m hopeful in the next couple of months we have a more detailed announcement on that construction schedule.”
Metro Government received 19 applications for the conversion program last year, with six projects initially advancing for funding consideration.
Jeff O’Brien, executive director of the city’s Cabinet for Economic Development, said his team is currently working with one active project candidate, though no final funding decision has been made.
Funding for the program comes from a $100 million allocation approved by the Kentucky General Assembly in 2024. The funding also supports other downtown initiatives, including plans for the Belvedere and the redevelopment of Louisville Gardens.
A newly approved $90 million investment for downtown projects, passed in Frankfort, also includes funding for the conversion program.
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