A local community group may have an opportunity to buy the Nia Center, after previous plans to redevelop the small business hub into affordable housing failed.
The Nia Center is owned by TARC, Louisville’s bus agency. TARC’s Board of Directors voted unanimously Tuesday to enter into purchase negotiations with the West Louisville Dream Team, which has offered to purchase the building for $2.1 million. The agency said it will submit an official response to the Dream Team’s letter of intent by Friday, which would start a 14-day period of exclusive negotiations.
TARC previously agreed to a deal with Goodwill Kentucky, which wanted to demolish the Nia Center and build a 78-unit affordable apartment complex. But Goodwill failed to get the necessary funding for the project from the West End Opportunity Partnership.
Shaun Spencer, the founder of the West Louisville Dream Team, said the group aims to raise the $2.1 million from public and private donors. She said they are confident they can pull it off.
“Obviously, we wouldn’t agree to anything that’s not ethical, honest and transparent for the community’s sake,” Spencer said. “As long as those things are in order, we plan for them to sign it and for us to move forward with building our capital stack, so that we can have the building by the end of the year or January.”
Unlike the initial offer from Goodwill Kentucky, the Dream Team is planning to keep the Nia Center intact. The building has served as a hub for small businesses since 1997, offering below-market rent to West End entrepreneurs. Tenants say that the Nia Center is an important asset to Louisville’s Black communities, offering affordable office space in a part of the city where there are few other options.
The building is in need of some significant repairs and renovations, according to TARC, and is currently only about half full.
The West Louisville Dream Team is promising to increase occupancy to 90% within the first three years if it takes over. Its leaders also plan on reopening a space for community and civic meetings in the building.
Spencer told LPM News Wednesday that the group wants to meet “soon” with Louisville Metro Council members to gauge their support for that component.
“We want to get together to talk about our ideas for the community space and if they’re on board with us submitting something to Metro Council for December to help us pay for that community space piece,” she said.
At the end of each calendar year, Metro Council debates and votes on a budget adjustment. The city’s revenue often outpaces budget projections, meaning it may have some extra funding. Spencer hopes to convince them to put money toward the Nia Center purchase.
Some Metro Council members representing parts of the West End have previously voiced their support for the West Louisville Dream Team’s effort to purchase the Nia Center.
