LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Rabbit Hole Distillery's plan to expand their campus over the entire block of Jefferson Street in the NuLu neighborhood is still on hold.
The company wants to rezone their property, but a petition halted the process so the city can review two older structures the distillery wants to demolish in their redesign.
In an August Louisville Metro Planning Commission, a petition to have the Historic Landmarks & Preservation District Commission review those structures was acknowledged. It gave the office up to 30 days to complete a report on the historical significance of the two buildings and see if they should be eligible for landmark status.
Many NuLu residents have been following this process in hopes Rabbit Hole will reconsider their redesign and not demolish the structures.
Jessi Arrington lives across the street from one of those buildings and was one of the more than 100 residents who signed the petition.
"I feel like with the amazing architects they have on their team they should be able to take some of these structures and incorporate them into their brand and their facility and not have us lose them," Arrington said.
The distillery's current redesign plan does incorporate some structures already in place.
Arrington lives in a older church that was built in the 1800s and fears the demolition across the street could impact her home.
"I mean I'm very interested because being a person who is trying to escort a historic church into the next generation and keep it from crumbling or falling down takes a lot of effort," Arrington said.
The completed report outlined several details on the two structures that were set to be demolished.
It said the shotgun styled building on Clay Street was built in 1882 while the other building on Shelby Street dates back to 1866. Both structures feature historic architecture and speak to the history of German immigration into Derby City in the 1800s.
The report said a German family owned the building on Shelby Street for two generations. It started as a tailor shop where the family would occupy and live on the top floor. It was then passed down the owner's son before being sold to someone else.
Arrington said the entire neighborhood speaks to that story.
"We're actually situated on the corner of Clay and what's called Nanny Goat Strut and that's where the German immigrants would have their goat races," Arrington said.
Although the report outlines the history it also determined the buildings alone don't hold significance.
WHAS11 reached out to Rabbit Hole for comment on the completed report. They declined to provide a statement.
"Rabbit Hole is our neighbor," Arrington said. "We just all want to be on the same page about moving forward successfully."
This report was just the first step to many before the distillery can move forward with their expansion project.
Historical preservation officer Savannah Darr said the earliest this entire process could be completed was in two months. The report will now be presented at the Individual Landmark Technical Review meeting on September 13.
It should then be taken forward for a commission vote.
To read the entire report click here.
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