OF THOSE, 93% OF PATIENTS WERE NOT BELIEVED TO BE VACCINATED. AS WE WELCOME 2026, THE PUSH TO REVITALIZE DOWNTOWN LOUISVILLE REMAINS A CENTRAL FOCUS. IT COMES AS SOME PROMINENT BUSINESSES HAVE DIMINISHED THEIR PRESENCE IN THE AREA. AS SAM CARTER FOUND OUT, BRIGHTER DAYS MAY NOT JUST BE AHEAD. THEY MAY ALREADY BE HERE. HUMANA LG&E, FIFTH THIRD BANK. ALL THREE COMPANIES HAVE OR WILL SOON REDUCE THEIR EMPLOYEE FOOTPRINT IN DOWNTOWN LOUISVILLE. WHILE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF THE LOUISVILLE DOWNTOWN PARTNERSHIP, REBECCA FLEISCHAKER ACKNOWLEDGES THE OPTICS OF THOSE HIGH PROFILE DEPARTURES ARE NOT IDEAL. SHE IS QUICK TO ADD THEY DON’T TELL THE WHOLE STORY. WE HAVE HAD NEW COMPANIES MOVE IN. YUM IS BRINGING 550 NEW EMPLOYEES TO THE DOWNTOWN AREA THAT WEREN’T IN DOWNTOWN. U.S. ARMY CORPS OF ENGINEERS. THEY WERE ON THE SOUTHWEST CORNER OF DOWNTOWN. THEY’RE MOVING INTO THE MIDDLE OF DOWNTOWN AT THE LG&E CENTER WITH 750 EMPLOYEES. FLEISCHAKER ALSO SAYS A NUMBER OF SMALL BUSINESSES HAVE MOVED INTO DOWNTOWN, AND MORE BUSINESSES HAVE RECOMMITTED TO THE AREA BY SIGNING NEW LEASES. SHE POINTS TO THE MORE THAN $880 MILLION INVESTED IN DOWNTOWN, MUCH OF THAT IN THE FORM OF COSMETIC AND INFRASTRUCTURAL IMPROVEMENTS, AND ALSO SAYS THERE’S MORE ON THE WAY. WE HAVE $2.5 BILLION OF INVESTMENT THAT IS CURRENTLY UNDERWAY OR ANNOUNCED AS WELL. SO ON TOP OF THE $885 MILLION THAT WAS ACTUALLY ANNOUNCED AND OPENED AND LAUNCHED IN DOWNTOWN, WE’RE LOOKING AT A LOT MORE HAPPENING. ACCORDING TO FLEISCHAKER, EXTERNAL FACTORS LIKE TARIFFS AND INTEREST RATES ARE SLOWING THE GROWTH PROCESS, BUT CHANGES TO THOSE COULD QUICKLY TURN THE EMBERS OF REVIVAL INTO A BLAZE OF PROSPERITY. I DO THINK THERE’S A DOMINO EFFECT. ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT BEGETS ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT. SO WHEN YOU START TO SEE THINGS HAPPEN, OTHER PEOPLE WHO MAY HAVE BEEN ON THE FRINGE OR WEREN’T REALLY WILLING TO STICK THEIR TOE IN ARE GOING TO SAY, OH, IT’S TIME. IN 2025, MORE THAN 770 RESIDENTIAL UNITS WERE COMPLETED AND AN ESTIMATED 2500 MORE ARE ON THE WAY THIS YEAR IN DOWNTOWN LOUISVILLE. SAM CARTER WLKY NEWS, SAM AND ACCORDING T
Downtown Louisville revitalization continues despite business departures
Updated: 6:07 PM EST Jan 1, 2026
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Efforts to revitalize downtown Louisville continue as some major companies, including Humana, LG&E, and Fifth Third Bank, reduce their employee presence in the area.”We’ve also had new companies move in. Yum! is bringing 550 new employees to downtown. The US Army Corps of Engineers was on the Southwest corner of downtown. They are moving into the middle of downtown, to the LG&E Center, with 750 employees,” said Rebecca Flieschaker, executive director of the Louisville Downtown Partnership.Flieschaker also noted that several small businesses have moved into downtown, with more recommitting to the area by signing new leases. She highlighted that more than $880 million has been invested in downtown, much of it in cosmetic and infrastructural improvements, with more on the way.”$2.5 billion of investment that is currently underway or announced as well. So, on top of the 885 million that was already announced and launched in Downtown, we are looking at a lot more happening,” Flieschaker said.According to Flieschaker, external factors like interest rates and tariffs are currently slowing the growth process, but changes to these could quickly accelerate the area’s revival. “There is a domino effect, economic development begets economic development. So, when you start to see things happening, other people who may have been on the fringe, or weren’t really ready to stick their toe in are going to say oh it’s time,” she said.In 2025, more than 770 residential units were completed, with an estimated 2,500 more expected this year.
Efforts to revitalize downtown Louisville continue as some major companies, including Humana, LG&E, and Fifth Third Bank, reduce their employee presence in the area.
“We’ve also had new companies move in. Yum! is bringing 550 new employees to downtown. The US Army Corps of Engineers was on the Southwest corner of downtown. They are moving into the middle of downtown, to the LG&E Center, with 750 employees,” said Rebecca Flieschaker, executive director of the Louisville Downtown Partnership.
Flieschaker also noted that several small businesses have moved into downtown, with more recommitting to the area by signing new leases. She highlighted that more than $880 million has been invested in downtown, much of it in cosmetic and infrastructural improvements, with more on the way.
“$2.5 billion of investment that is currently underway or announced as well. So, on top of the 885 million that was already announced and launched in Downtown, we are looking at a lot more happening,” Flieschaker said.
According to Flieschaker, external factors like interest rates and tariffs are currently slowing the growth process, but changes to these could quickly accelerate the area’s revival.
“There is a domino effect, economic development begets economic development. So, when you start to see things happening, other people who may have been on the fringe, or weren’t really ready to stick their toe in are going to say oh it’s time,” she said.
In 2025, more than 770 residential units were completed, with an estimated 2,500 more expected this year.
