LOUISVILLE, Ky. — A historic building in downtown Louisville is getting new life.
The Gateway on Broadway is in the home stretch of completion, and people are already moving in.
Troy Mattingly, 57, is just days from settling into his brand new apartment at the complex on 15th and Broadway.
“It’s excellent,” Mattingly said. “It’s secure; that’s No. 1. You’ve got to have a fob to get in the elevator, get in the front door, in the gate, then you got to have a key to get into your apartment. It’s pretty safe.”
The property, which is on the National Register of Historic Places, was built in 1921.
For over 50 years, the building sat vacant. In its past life, it was a candy factory, office space for the Department of Defense and a tobacco warehouse.
Now, a redevelopment worth $48 million is happening at the former five-story warehouse. There are 116 affordable housing units for seniors.
“The apartments are fantastic,” said Andrew Hawes, president and CEO of nonprofit The Housing Partnership, Inc. “It’s not your traditional senior complex apartments by any means; this is a little bit cooler.”
“It’s like loft apartments, very spacious ... we kept it kind of raw, where we have exposed brick. We kept some of the graffiti in it, where it was kind of cool.”
There will be commercial space, and First Financial Bank will open a full service branch inside. Haizer Hearing Institute will also have an office for hearing testing services. There will be a café, too.
“On the first floor of the building, we’ll be moving our offices there; we’re super excited about that, to be closer to west Louisville and the single-family homes that we own and work with our residents on, being closer for them to access our homebuyer credit education counseling program,” Hawes said.
According to 2024 data from the Kentucky Housing Corporation, over 206,000 housing units are needed in the state, spanning every county. That breaks down to 101,569 rental units needed and 104,638 for-sale units needed. The gap is projected to increase by almost 40% through 2029.
Back in his new place, Mattingly said he can’t wait for more people to move in and more amenities to come.
“That’s going to make it really fun,” he said. “I’ll be able to go down every morning and get my breakfast, my lunch and my dinner because I don’t do much cooking.”
Building construction is slated to be complete in July. Hawes said a ribbon-cutting ceremony will be later this summer, adding they’re looking for a vendor that may be interested in an opportunity with the planned café inside the Gateway. The building is now 100% leased.
