Louisville Business First and Access Louisville did a poll asking: What is the most important project in Louisville? We talked about the results of the poll all these projects this week's Access Louisville podcast. Here's a look at the top five priorities that Louisville must take action on. 

1. Finding a new use for the Humana building: In early 2024, Humana Inc. announced plans to vacate the iconic tower and consolidate its local employees in the recently renovated Waterside building and neighboring Clocktower building. The Humana tower is now for sale and Chicago-based Cushman & Wakefield U.S. Inc. has been retained as the exclusive listing agent for the building — a 27-story structure at 500 W. Main St.
2. Two new Downtown hotels:  Louisville Business First broke the news on both of them. The most recent one is a 1,000-room hotel tower at the now-vacant site next to the Muhammad Ali Center, which is in the “predevelopment” phase by Louisville-based Poe Cos. There’s also a 300-room, 27-story hotel tower being planned by Zyyo, led by founder and CEO Nick Campisano.
3. Converting the Starks Building: Back in 2020, Underhill Associates unveiled a plan to convert the empty office building at the corner of Muhammad Ali Boulevard and Fourth Street into apartments with first-floor retail. As proposed, the primary tenants would be artist and the units would be offered at rates affordable for that income.
4. Residential/retail development near Lynn Family Stadium:  In March, Soccer Holdings, the parent of Louisville City FC and Racing Louisville FC, announced an agreement with Denton Floyd Real Estate Group and LDG Development to build a mixed-use development with 200 luxury apartment units along with dedicated retail spaces on the first floor.
5. A new use for the former Jeffboat site: Right now, it's a massive, rustic slab of concrete but it could be so much more. The vision is for a $1 billion mixed-use development transforming a former shipyard in Jeffersonville, Indiana, into a waterfront residential and commercial area. Columbus, Ohio-based Thrive Cos. is the developer. Site work and demolition have received grant money from the state of Indiana but it's all still in the early stages.

The show, sponsored by Baird, was episode 300 of Access Louisville. It was recorded in front of a live audience at the Baird Conference Center on the 29th floor of the 500W building in Downtown Louisville. 

The program included three special guest: 

• Earl Winebrenner, owner and president, Winebrenner Capital Management
• Michael Gross, development director, LDG Development 
• John Hollenbach, managing partner, Hollenbach Oakley

The show was moderated by me and Joel Stinnett, senior reporter at Business First. You can find a few quotes from the our panelist in below but be sure to check out the program in the player above for the full show. Access Louisville is also available on popular podcast services, including Apple Podcasts and Spotify.