West St. Catherine Neighborhood Association

We appreciate your thoughts on the matter of locating a grocery store at 5th and Breckinridge Streets. The City does not own any of the land and thus anything that happens on the site is a private transaction. The newspaper recently reported that Kroger had decided to look for another site. Although there had been some discusion of the Housing Authority looking at the site for housing the property was too expensive for them to purchase. So there will be no housing built on the site unless a private developer purchases and builds which would mean that any housing would be market-rate. So the site now is under control of the several property owners. We hope that something beneficial for the neighborhood will be proposed but it may be some time before that happens.
-----Original Message-----
From: Spalding, Mary Jo [mailto:mspalding@firstam.com]
Sent: Friday, March 28, 2003 2:56 PM
To: 'metrocall@loukymetro.org'
Subject: New Kroger not Housing


I currently live in the Old Louisville and have for the past 20 years. We own our house and have seen the neighborhood slowly improve over the past years after many years of decline. My main concern is that I am hearing much debate over the site at 6th and Kentucky. Rumor has it that there may be public housing built on this spot or a Kroger store. I am strongly against the building of more public or low income housing in my neighborhood. Over the years I have watched as numerous people move in to low income housing and move out leaving the building in terrible shape and the drug and noise problems they bring to the area. I do not feel more housing of such type is needed here. We have a very diversified area already. We have two Talbot houses on my block alone. No more. I worry about my safety as it is in my neighborhood and if this type of housing is built then it will be too much, I will be forced to relocate and leave the home I love for fear of my personal safety.

With the stock market as it is and investments dropping each day my home is my largest investment and is gaining value each day. If low income housing is built the value will drop drastically.

I have listened to the mayor and other talk over the years of having people move into our downtown area, well they finally are with the various condos in the older buildings and more and more people are taking to rehabbing the old homes thus improving the ''gateway to downtown''. The Kroger we currently have is small and older, they want to expand, why not let them have the land at 6th and Kentucky and build a store that is much needed in our area? It would make the downtown area look more inviting. That would be a drawing point to get more folks to venture downtown to live.

I am not the only one in Old Louisville that feels this way, the vast majority want a new Kroger and no new housing built on that tract of land. The people at Christian Church Home, the Chapel House, and the local college all want this new store and not the housing. Will our concerns and voiced be heard this time and someone do the right thing?

Thank you for your time,
Mary Jo Spalding
544 W St Catherine
Louisville KY 40203



By Mary Jo

Fifth & Breckenridge Street

Thank you for sharing the response from Metro Call to your e-mail regarding possible development at the Fifth & Breckenridge site.

I, for one, cannot fathom why this neighborhood continually shoots itself in the foot by chasing away interested investors. We need amenities! I wholeheartedly agree with you that our neighborhood is already saturated with ''affordable housing'', and could have benefited immensely from a new and improved Kroger store at that site. I'm currently aware of no private developer willing to take on the environmental challenges that come with the Fifth & Breckenridge, and, consequently, anticipate absolutely nothing new. I'm afraid that what we'll get is more of the same ----- a crime infested ''brownfield'' for the foreseeable future.

On a more positive note, I'm still working with our Councilperson to reverse the dire outcome for our neighborhood -- one we've been fighting to avoid all along. I will advise as soon as I have any new information. Again, thank you Mary Jo, as you've addressed the issue on all our minds.