LOUISVILLE, Ky. — The redesign and expansion of a NuLu distillery will now take longer than expected.
Rabbit Hole Distillery officials said this project has been years in the making, but on Thursday they recognized a petition looking to preserve some historical buildings.
Business officials approached the Louisville Metro Planning Commission in July with hopes of rezoning their area from commercial to enterprise. It was tabled after a long discussion and public comment both for and against the demolition of two old buildings.
On Thursday, company officials approached the commission again stating they had the chance to review the petition and it's legitimacy.
The distillery wants to take over an entire block on Jefferson Street to expand and redesign their campus. They plan to integrate two older buildings into their redesign and demolish two others.
Community members in the NuLu and Phoenix Hill neighborhoods created a petition to prevent the demolition of those two buildings claiming they are old enough to be considered historical landmarks.
"We want to respect the process...but we also want to voice our frustration with it," said John Baker, a zoning professional working with Rabbit Hole Distillery. "I mean I think this is an opportunity for Metro Council to revisit the landmarks ordinance and revisit this again. This project has been in the public eye for a couple of years."
Supporters of the petition said they don't want to stop the expansion, but want the distillery to consider the long-term effect of destroying something the community can't get back.
"This is about creating an environment where businesses can thrive, grow and expand in NuLu without our history being lost," said Keven Dohn, an architectural designer and leader of the petition.
Baker acknowledged in front of the commission that their plans have been public for a long time and that the petition only appeared when they announced the demolition of the buildings just days before July's public hearing.
"It's 150-170 years old it was built about in the 1850s," Dohn said.
Dohn pointed out that the building on the intersection of Jefferson and Shelby Streets is covered in solid limestone and will outlast anything being built today.
As the commission continued the motion to an uncertain date, the distillery will have to wait for the landmarks commission to review the buildings set for demolition. If Metro Government decides to make them historical landmarks it could change the way Rabbit Hole moves forward with this project.
The timeline for that review is unknown.
To avoid restarting the rezoning process, Rabbit Hole officials said they will let the commission conduct their review and plan to be back in front of the planning committee once it's complete.
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