Retail Unlikely for Fourth Street Borders Location

Five retail spaces in Louisville once occupied by Borders and Waldenbooks stores will be sold at auction next month. But one former Borders store isn't changing hands.The branch at Fourth Street Live is still owned by the Baltimore-based Cordish Companies. Cordish holds the lease and will decide what fills the space next. Mayor's spokesman Chris Poynter says while a grocery store likely wouldn't succeed, another retail outlet downtown would be nice."That would be our first choice–a place you could buy groceries or clothing," he says. "[Cordish] said there aren't a lot of those type of stores that are looking to expand in this economy. Really it's up to Cordish to find the new tenant. We would be supportive of anything in that space."Poynter says it's likely the space will be filled by a restaurant or bar. The mayor's office isn't in talks with any businesses to fill the five locations going for auction."We just want to see them filled with anything," says Poynter. "I know the businesses around them also want to see them filled because vacant space is never a good thing."The locations up for auction are on Dixie Highway, Bardstown Road and Shelbyville Road and in the Jefferson Mall and Oxmoor Mall.