LOUISVILLE, Ky. — City officials announced that next steps toward transforming the former Rhodia site as a community-led mixed-use development will advance shortly.
Metro Council approved the allocation of $10 million last year in federal American Rescue Plan (ARP) funds to pay for environmental remediation at the vacant brownfield property.
“The resulting redevelopment project will serve as a cornerstone for much-needed future development in the Park Hill and Algonquin neighborhoods to improve quality of life for area residents and build up neighborhoods that have long been neglected,” Mayor Craig Greenberg said.
Phillip Baker, Louisville Metro Council member for District 6, said it's a new day for the neighborhoods.
"This is a new day," Baker said. "Our neighbors in Park Hill deserve just as much as every neighborhood."
Officials said completing the remediation work is the next step before the property can be redeveloped.
In late 2020, Louisville Metro Government chose Re:land Group, an MBE Louisville-based social and civic impact development group, to redevelop the former Rhodia site.
The release said the Park Hill/Algonquin Community of Opportunity Advisory Board was then created in June 2022 by Re:land Group to "ensure that a community-led process was put in place to understand and inform the cultural, social, and economic needs of the neighborhoods."
“From leadership to ownership - the Park Hill/Algonquin Community of Opportunity Advisory Board is a collective body of concerned residents who have joined together in unity based on three “T’s”- truth, trust and transformation,” Kathleen Parks said on behalf of the Park Hill/Algonquin Community of Opportunity Advisory Board leadership.
The community key development areas identified include: employment, economic opportunities, health and wellbeing, housing, education, community empowerment, services, and amenities.
"This is a great milestone in this journey. This, though, is not about remediation," Jim Beckett, managing partner of Re:land Group, said. "The narrative is not remediation. The narrative is about people. A place that people in Algonquin Park Hill will feel a sense of ownership and pride, where Black culture will flourish and overflow, where green space thrives."
Officials said the next phase of the community-led process will include a master site plan for the 17-acres aimed at restoring the land into a "culturally rich, socially just, environmentally restorative ‘live, work, and play’ destination."
The release said the master site planning process started in May 2023 and is expected to be completed by the end of the year.
For more information, please click here.
Make it easy to keep up-to-date with more stories like this. Download the WHAS11 News app now. For Apple or Android users.
Have a news tip? Email assign@whas11.com, visit our Facebook page or Twitter feed.