Louisville has picked a firm to create a master plan for Broadway between Shawnee Park and Baxter Avenue.
Office of Advanced Planning Director Gretchen Milliken said the city picked Gresham Smith, a Nashville-based firm with offices in Louisville, from a pool of 10 applicants.
The firm is expected to draft a vision for Broadway as part of Move Louisville, a 20-year plan that calls for a shift in how people move around the city. Milliken said the city will pay Gresham Smith $450,000 to create the plan.
Milliken said it is important to make sure Broadway is safe for pedestrians while also supporting development along the busy corridor.
“You have people running red lights, you get young kids who will get hit on the corridor waiting for a bus. That’s not the kind of corridor that we want,” Milliken said. “I think there’s tremendous opportunity for more revitalization throughout the whole corridor … This plan can really support that.”
The city first started asking for applicants to plan a redevelopment of Broadway last November. At the time, Mayor Greg Fischer said the change would benefit nearby neighborhoods and boost economic development. There are other major developments along and near the corridor, including the new YMCA, a health clinic in the Russell neighborhood and Paristown Hall.
Milliken said the ultimate cost to redevelop Broadway is still unknown because the plan is underway. The city will begin taking public comment about the master plan in October, and Milliken said the plan will be influenced by what residents have to say.
The Broadway master plan is expected to be ready by the end of 2020.
