Louisville officials say Humana building's transformation into hotel could spur more development
The project is expected to cost more than $600 million, but the iconic skyline feature will be preserved.
The project is expected to cost more than $600 million, but the iconic skyline feature will be preserved.
The project is expected to cost more than $600 million, but the iconic skyline feature will be preserved.
The iconic Humana Tower in downtown Louisville will be converted into a convention hotel, Mayor Greenberg announced.
The development group, which includes Poe Companies, plans a $600 million to $700 million project to transform the building into a 1,000-room hotel with a 40,000-square-foot ballroom and 100,000 square feet of meeting space.
Hank Hillebrand, president of Poe Companies, said, "you typically see these in markets where they host Super Bowls and things like that—we host a 'Super Bowl' every year, but you know we can do more things now with something like this."
Hillebrand said the hotel's size will attract more large-scale events.
"That's really attractive to the national group planners that are looking and only looking at markets that offer those kind of amenities," he said.
Doug Bennett of Louisville Tourism said the hotel's downtown location will also improve the city's ability to compete for large events with other cities in the region.
"Typically, if we have to bid on a show that's needing 8 hotels and another city can do 3, that's a competitive disadvantage for us," he said. "You have the main street access, you'll have Market Street access, which puts it less than two blocks from the convention center, which is a very strong position for a hotel like this to be in."
Bennett said the project could spark more activity downtown, drawing more residents back for recreation.
"We believe it will be a catalyst for other development that can only be supporting of more footsteps downtown," he said.
Hillebrand said the developers plan bars and restaurants that will appeal to locals as well as visitors.
The success we've seen at hotel Distil with our restaurant, Repeal, gives us a lot of conviction that we'll have some great F&B outlets here that aren't just for the tourists," he said.
He also said the project team is committed to preserving the building's place on the Louisville skyline: "As excited and giddy as we are as being the local developer and part of the local team here, our architects that are going to be on this project are even more excited."
Officials expect to break ground in 2027, and the conversion is expected to take a few years. In a statement, Humana said it "looks forward to seeing the property reimagined as a world-class hospitality facility."
