LOUISVILLE, Ky. — It's a $16 million investment in Portland named Painter's Row.
Fading white letters show the history of the buildings—they used to be warehouses for Peaslee Gaulbert brand paint.
With support from NuLu founder Gill Holland, now it's housing: 71 apartments, most of them under $1,000 dollars a month, in Portland by the railroad tracks near where Waterfront Park will be once the expansion finishes.
Sportswear salesman Caleb Steele lives there.
"I pay a little bit over $900 bucks," he said. "Being in a downtown area, paying a really good amount of rent, it's great. I'm saving a little bit of money."
The smallest option, a studio apartment, costs $820 dollars a month. It's around 550 square feet—but with a picturesque view of Louisville's skyline.
One of the larger units could bring New Albany resident Kofi Darku across the river. "I love that things are coming to the west side. Nice, hip living. And if my daughters would like it, I would love it too," he explained.
Richard Meadows, the vice president of the Portland Neighborhood Association, approved of the project.
"The view from these apartments down toward Thunder is going to be a million-dollar view," he said. "That's the kind of thing -- this is the first step of, for the neighborhood of Portland."
Since it's an old building, the developers and investors—Weyland Ventures and Catalyst Opportunity Fund—saved on building materials. Because it's historic, they got state and federal tax credits. Those bring the rent price down.
More supply will do that too. So, the city is pursuing a sweeping change to zoning for 'middle housing,' which would allow duplexes, triplexes, fourplexes, cottage courts and townhouses to be built on single-unit-zoned lots. That's about 75% of land in the city, according to the Office of Planning and Design.
"The proposed regulations would limit the building height to two or two-and-a-half stories," Mayor Craig Greenberg said. "The same heights as many of our single-family homes in the city."
Those regulations need approval from Metro Council first, but it's an option they're already exploring.
An updated housing needs assessment releases on March 20.
Previous totals showed the city needed 30,000 housing units.
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