After two postponements and months of negotiations, the Louisville Metro Council has approved the purchase of land for the Center City project.Twelve million dollars will be spent for the so-called Water Company block east of 4th Street Live downtown. The block will be leased to the Baltimore-based developer Cordish Company.All eleven council Republicans opposed the measure, saying the development agreement asked too much of the city and not enough of Cordish.“The Mayor negotiated the agreement, signed it before the Council even had the first look at it," says Councilman Hal Heiner, who led the opposition. "And it’s very difficult to change once it’s been signed.”
Democrat David Tandy represents downtown in the council. He says the project will bring much needed retail business to the area."We're dealing with a piece of property that has laid dormant for a number of years," he says. "Now we’re being able to take that property and begin use it in such a way that will add resources and add revenue to our community," he says.Cordish had agreed to several initial concessions requested by the council, but said Thursday it would not negotiate the development deal any further.
