LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Mayor Craig Greenberg, D-Louisville, delivered his State of the City address.
The mayor highlighted a lot of positive news across the city as he addressed a large group at the city’s new Summit Wellness Center.
Greenberg said shootings, carjackings and homicides were all down over the past year across the city.
As he touted improvements in public safety, he also highlighted the city’s new wellness center for police, where he was giving the speech. He said it’s serving as a national model in taking care of officers’ needs so they can better serve the public.
The mayor also highlighted economic developments across the city, which he says result from a strategic plan to increase opportunities for the community.
“We attracted more than $1 billion in new investment last year,” Greenberg said. “That’s creating over 2,300 new jobs in our city. This included our largest investment that we’ve seen in west Louisville in over 20 years. There, Stellar Snacks made a $137 million commitment. It’s creating over 350 full-time jobs. Investments like these don’t just happen. They’re the product of hard work and a proactive strategy.”
The mayor said the city is working with Gov. Andy Beshear, D-Ky., and the state legislature to improve incentives that will attract more capital investments to the city.
Greenberg also talked to the crowd about the “My Louisville Home” plan to create and preserve 15,000 affordable homes across the city, as well as the Community Care Campus set to open next year, which will provide transitional housing and services to people experiencing homelessness.
Mayor Greenberg also promised the city will release plans in the next few weeks for how it plans to achieve the goal of implementing citywide universal pre-K.
“Even though I’ve only been in office for just over a year, sometimes people already ask me, what do I want my legacy to be? And that answer for me is easy, even though it’s something none of us will see for 15 or 20 years,” he said. “And that’s when I envision a first group of students who all started off in early childhood learning, great, free pre-K program, when all of those kids will be graduating from high school. And I expect them to be the highest achieving class in the history of our city—until the next year’s class graduates, and the next, and the next. That’s the legacy I want to create for the people of our city.”
Mayor Greenberg also detailed efforts to improve access to community spaces like parks and libraries. He said the city has big plans for reimagining part of Fourth Street and building up the Belvedere to create a world-class public space on the riverfront.