LOUISVILLE, Ky. — For decades, Mid City Mall has hosted businesses, shops and entertainment for Louisville’s Highlands neighborhood. Now, the property is for sale.
Kiara Tyler is hunting for a book in one of her favorite sections…fiction. She’s come to the Highlands-Shelby Park branch of the Louisville Public Library for 15 years now.
“There’s just a homey feeling. There’s the people, the staff. They really are helpful here. Whenever you can’t find a book, they’ll help you put it on hold,” Tyler said.
This branch inside the Mid-City Mall is sentimental to her. She and her kids, especially her son, love the library.
“It’s a lot quieter and not as many people. He loves that. He can be himself and not be scared.” Tyler said.
When you walk inside the mall, there is evidence of stores and businesses that used to be. The Family Dollar location is now gone; inside is completely empty. The Ramen House restaurant is also closed.
“It’s sad. I don’t want to see it go,” Tyler said. “Because it’s… as you can hear, there are kids in the background. People raise their kids here.”
Downstairs, the Nearly New Shop has been in the mall for decades. They have served generations of people and seen styles come and go.
“I just hope that if it does sell, that whoever comes in here recognizes the importance of the businesses that are housed here and that would work on making sure we can stay and continue to provide the essential services that we do,” said Sarah Harlan, the executive director of National Council of Jewish Women Louisville.
Spectrum News talked with Metro Councilmember Ben Reno-Weber, whose district the mall sits in.
He said, “I think this is a generational opportunity. This is the sort of thing where we as a city need to look ourselves in the face and say ‘what kind of a city do we want to be?’ Do we want to be a city that is walkable, that is welcoming, that really invests in the kind of mixed-use density that we know is the future?’ Or are we gonna let another opportunity pass us by?”
As for the plans for the businesses and shops that are still at Mid City Mall, Reno-Weber said ideally they’d get a developer who will be thoughtful about doing this in stages, so they’ll be able to preserve as many of those businesses as they can.