LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Community leaders want you to hang out downtown and they know the spot.
Metro Louisville is seeking donors to help them transform under-used downtown areas into what they call “CitySpots.”
Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg, D-Louisville, debuted the first CitySpot right outside Metro Hall.
He said, “It takes an otherwise grey location and turns it into a something so bright and colorful and inviting and safe.”
Leadership Louisville and the Louisville Downtown Partnership spruced up the location with donations from Chase Bank. Roughly $30,000 added several picnic tables, standing tables, and a brighter sidewalk paint scheme and doing so without affecting crosswalk traffic, or parking spaces.
“With funding support, [we] will continue to work with the Bingham Fellows classmates as well with our own staff to dream up and create new spaces,” Rebecca Fleischaker of the Louisville Downtown Partnership said.
The Louisville Downtown Partnership and Leadership Louisville are seeking more sponsors to do the same thing around downtown. They are asking building owners to consider dedicating some of their space to make a big impact on the downtown experience.
Denies Dube is enjoying the additions outside of Metro Hall.
“This is wonderful. This is pretty,” Dube said. A Louisville resident for 23 years and downtown regular, Dube said adding a few amenities and a little bit of color goes a long way.
“This is a nice place for people to come and rest and enjoy and to have their lunches and do everything they want to do,” Dube added.
“We want people to come downtown and enjoy their experience here,” Mayor Greenberg said.
This is a pilot program, so the CitySpot at Fifth and Jefferson is the only one so far, but other potential CitySpots include areas around the Belvedere and PNC Bank according to the Louisville Downtown Partnership.