LOCAL

Developer proposes new hotel and restaurant on Baxter Avenue in the Highlands

Billy Kobin
Louisville Courier Journal

A Louisville-based development firm wants to turns three vacant buildings on Baxter Avenue in the Highlands into a new hotel and restaurant.

Weyland Ventures, a family-owned real estate development business, filed an application Jan. 24 with the Louisville Metro Department of Planning and Design Services to renovate three historic buildings at 900-912 Baxter Avenue.

The project at the corner of Baxter Avenue and East Breckinridge Street would result in a 69-room hotel along with a roughly 4,700-square-foot restaurant, outdoor patio area and adjacent parking lot, according to the application.

The three buildings take up just over 43,000 square feet, and Weyland Ventures would spend $1.9 million on exterior renovations, according to the overlay permit application filed with the city.

Weyland Ventures can use historic tax credits to help fund its project, according to the application.

Additional details on names and concepts for the hotel and restaurant are not included in the application, and Weyland Ventures CEO Mariah Gratz told The Courier Journal those details are "still under development."

If the proposal receives proposal, Gratz said her firm would aim to start construction in the next six months and be open by next summer.

"The Highlands is such a great neighborhood, and Bardstown Road is known as an entertainment, retail, and restaurant destination, but it lacks a hotel between Broadway and the Douglass Loop," Gratz wrote in an email. "In keeping with the unique, local vibe of Bardstown Road, we want to deliver a boutique hotel that is unique, authentic, and complementary the neighborhood. And, we’re always excited about breathing new life into historic buildings."

Weyland Ventures purchased the Baxter Avenue properties for roughly $1.4 million in December after they went up for auction, according to Jefferson County property records. The previous tenant was Omega National Products, a maker of wood cabinet accessories and other products.

The Baxter Avenue proposal comes just weeks another developer submitted an application to build a five-story boutique hotel and bar a few blocks away at 1125 Bardstown Road.

Weyland Ventures, founded by prominent local architect and developer Bill Weyland in 1993, has been involved in numerous high-profile projects around Louisville over the years.

Those include the Louisville Slugger Museum & Factory, The Henry Clay, Edison Center, Whiskey Row Lofts, Liberty Green and the Glassworks District.

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Reach Billy Kobin at bkobin@courierjournal.com or 502-582-7030. Support strong local journalism by subscribing today: courier-journal.com/subscribe.