LOUISVILLE, Ky. — In the latest state budget, top Kentucky Republicans and Democrats secured the funding needed to put the finishing touches on the Grand Lyric Theater in Louisville.
This west Louisville project began in 2019 at the Louisville Central Community Center (LCCC). The theater carries the namesake of a famous downtown theater that is long since gone. Since 2023, the project has not been worked on due to a lack of funding.
Senator Gerald Neal (D-District 33) and Senate President Robert Stivers (R-District 25) celebrated the $1.5 million secured to finish the project, Thursday. Once complete, the theater will be home to the performing arts of LCCC.
"We live in the moment, but the moment is our opportunity to build for the future because these young people are going to have to grow and develop," Neal said. "And it's all our obligation and responsibility to create the capacity for that to happen."
Neal said he has continued to advocate for a space he believes "rounds out and advances the LCCC."
Stivers thanked the people of the LCCC.
"We don't have knowledge without you all giving us the information, and Gerald advocating for it, and us putting it in the final budget document that made this come to fruition," he said.
There's an aggressive completion timeline for the project; LCCC's President and CEO, Kevin Fields, Sr., said they're shooting for eight months.
"Very aggressive, but that's my mandate to my contractors," Fields said. "Once we get going, we're going to go like we're gang-busters and get it done."
Fields said the theater will create jobs and make an economic impact in the area, an initiative the center has aimed to achieve.
The money set for the theater will put the finishing touches on the space, funding the exterior and interior essentials, including: lighting systems, seating, AV technology, restrooms, roofing, and crucial site work such as parking, signage, drainage, fencing, and landscaping.
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