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$3 million incentive program hopes to bring more businesses to downtown Louisville

One major company, LG&E, announced it is moving out of it's downtown tower across from the KFC Yum! Center.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Pre-pandemic, most of downtown Louisville was booming with tons of businesses and people.

Now, the downtown Bristol Bar and Grille was full of diners heading to see 'Wicked' at the Kentucky Center for the Performing Arts.

Executive Vice President TJ Oakley said the Main Street location once had a steady lunch crowd. Then it changed in 2020.

"Without having that consistency of our lunch business. it makes it a really volatile situation for restaurants here; it's kind of a feast or famine mode," Oakley said.

Louisville Metro Council approved a $3 million dollar incentive to attract more businesses downtown. It includes a program providing $30 dollars per square foot to office tenants for physical improvements like construction and permanent fixtures.

"There's just a lot of components there that I know is going to make this really attractive for businesses to come back downtown," Oakley said.

One major company, LG&E, announced it is moving out of it's downtown tower across from the KFC Yum! Center. It once occupied 14 floors, and the lease ends in 2025.

LG&E told WHAS11 News it was the most cost effective decision for their employees and customers.

"We determined that this obviously is the right choice for us to be able to use the Broadway office location and expand there and invest there," Daniel Lowry, spokesperson at LG&E and KU, said.

The day-to-day after the pandemic is much different for offices that offer remote work for many workers.

"In the fall, we shifted to three days a week in the office so we're sort of on this hybrid schedule for most of our workers," Lowry said.

However, David Nicklies, president and CEO of Nicklies Development, is critical of the move by LG&E, calling it devastating for downtown.

He said there needs to be a stronger dialogue between the city and major companies to keep them downtown.

"I think you need to reach out to your LG&E's, your main employers downtown, find out where they are, what they think needs to be done," Nicklies said.

He added the perception of downtown safety needs to change. 

"If we're going to spend $3-8 million dollars to incentivize people outside of Louisville to come downtown they're not coming until it's safe," Nicklies said. 

LG&E told WHAS11 that they also plan to move some of its employees to eastern Jefferson County to the East Pointe Center. 

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