The invigoration of western downtown will create a new model for downtown living by integrating healthy lifestyles with sustainable economic and ecological interventions.
The riverside park and neighborhood will have a reciprocated relationship when it comes to health and sustainability. While 1,500 new dwellings are proposed in the new neighborhood, they are conveniently located near the park's bike and walking trails, community garden, and active lawn space. The dense housing will either provide unique views of the park or smaller greens along alleys for occupants to use. New green spaces on ground and roof double as storm water and heat island alleviation pieces. Some of the growth includes the re-purposing of the industrial buildings on site.
Warehouses become ideal spaces for start-up gyms, studio apartments, and the perfect support for green roofs. Shotgun style architecture reaches into the history of Louisville and they become the boutique, winery, and dining experience of west of downtown. New, safe bike lanes and expanded sidewalks invite visitors and residents to walk about Main St and spark commerce. Appropriate positioning of street trees make walking and biking comfortable and white oak shade trees resound the bourbon history. Together, the plantings reduce the heat and utility costs. The flood wall, once a dictating piece of infrastructure, will be transformed into lookout points for the park and neighborhood, a place for publics expression, or virtually absorbed into the new urban apartment buildings. I-64 will also be used to an advantage. Below the concrete canopy, walking and biking paths and plaza space can be used in almost every form of weather. LED lighting will highlight the linear feature and the piece will give identity to the newly developed district. Louisville's downtown is ready to wake up from its slumber in health and heat with a new active urban district as a model of success.
