Access Louisville: Heart of the City: Our next live podcast is 4 p.m. Feb. 5. Join us as we talk about development within Louisville's urban core with Lee Weyland, of Core Real Estate, Hank Hillebrand, of the Poe Cos., and Rebecca Fleischaker, of the Louisville Downtown Partnership. Details and registration here.

Imagine if Louisville landed three new hotel towers.

Seems far fetched, right? But there are actually three such projects floating around out there. We talk about those on this week's Access Louisville podcast. The latest (and focus of the show) is a recently unveiled plan for a J.W. Marriott at 4031 S. 4th Street (formerly known as Brown & Williamson Tower). 

Indianapolis-based Ghoman Group has secured franchise approval to bring a JW Marriott hotel to the 26-story structure, which is in the middle of Fourth Street Live. The company has said construction is set to begin “soon” with an opening date set for sometime in 2027. There are some unanswered questions, though, including how much that renovation would cost.

Just that project would be a big win for the city. But, as we discuss the Humana Building, on Main Street, is also being eyed to be converted into a 1,000-room hotel, according to multiple sources familiar with the project. As Business First reported last month, Louisville-based Poe Cos. is in the planning stages of the project, which could include the construction of an additional tower.

Two hotels in two existing towers would be huge. But as Business First falso reported in 2024, developer Zyyo is also planning to build a new 27-story, $175 million Downtown tower called One Forty West, which will feature a 300-room hotel. 

What are the chances that all three of these hotel projects happen? We talk about it.

After a break we go over some restaurant news, including the next chapter for a Louisville classic, Soupy's; and a new steakhouse coming to Clifton, called Mill Iron 4. We also go over a new taqueria coming to Butchertown, called Chica's Cantina, and a bankruptcy filing from the company behind Twin Peaks. 

Access Louisville is a weekly podcast from Louisville Business First. You can follow it on popular podcast services including Apple Podcasts and Spotify.