LOUISVILLE, Ky. — On Thursday evening the Louisville Metro Planning Commission held their monthly meeting. On the agenda was a motion in connection to the expansion of the Rabbit Hole Distillery.
The business is looking for a change in zoning from a C-2 (commercial) to EZ-1 (enterprise).
Developers of Rabbit Hole's expansion project took to the podium to speak about their developments and why they need the change. Also taking to the podium were Louisville residents living or working around the business.
The expansion of the NuLu distillery would include tearing down two historic buildings. One is located behind the distillery and the other is on the corner of Jefferson and Shelby Streets.
Kaveh Zamanian, the founder and CEO of the distillery, spoke about the project and said this will address their semitruck loading situation.
"Emphasize the expansion really is a concerted effort to build on the spectacular architectural design that we have to really elevate not only NuLu but also Louisville in the long run," Zamanian said.
Those against the expansion said the noise the facility makes has always been an issue. Many homeowners added this construction will be at their front door.
"And chances are if this is a commercial success, as we all hope, Rabbit Hole will need to grow more," said Keven Dohn, the leader of the petition to prevent the distillery from tearing down two historical buildings. "It is boarded up. It is vacant, but if you look at the detail and you talk to an architectural expert they will tell you that the level of detail on this and the quality of construction. The level of preservation is as good as anything in Butchertown, if not better."
The petition was due July 11, so developers of the expansion did not have the chance to look at it quite yet. But depending on if the two buildings will be marked as historical landmarks could determine how this expansion continues forward.
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