Downtown Louisville Business Development Strategy

Louisville, Kentucky

For the better part of a generation, downtowns have struggled to maintain their status as the most prominent regional employment centers. In Louisville, an opportunity exists to remake the regional economy to align it more with high growth, high wage industries nationally and internationally, and Downtown is the key—the conduit through which the entire region can link to the global knowledge economy.

To serve as a base, business cluster analysis was conducted to quantify the opportunity of job creation for downtown. Real estate market analysis was conducted to understand the underlying conditions of the office market.

A long-term strategy was then formulated that leveraged inexpensive space, nearby, high-growth education and health care institutions, and existing strengths in areas such as finance. Finally, the strategy helped to set the stage by leveraging place and business incubation to attract and retain the next generation of talented workers by fostering a start-up culture in downtown Louisville.

Several downtown institutions are moving forward in 2015 with a medical/innovation district master planning effort. The business development strategy is the foundation on which this new economic foundation will be built—one that is diversified, develops home-grown talent, and plugs the Louisville region into the growing New Economy.