Gateway on Broadway Senior Affordable Housing and Community Resource Center to Break Ground July 21

FRANKFORT, Kentucky — Kentucky Housing Corporation (KHC) Chief Executive Officer and Executive Director Winston Miller will join state and local officials Friday, July 21, 2023, in the Russell neighborhood of West Louisville to break ground on the Gateway on Broadway Senior Affordable Housing and Community Resource Center.

The original structure was built in 1921 for the Frank A. Menne Candy Company. In 1932, the building was sold to the Axton-Fisher Tobacco Company, the largest independent tobacco company in the United States at the time, which used it as a warehouse until 1944. Although the architect is unknown, the building is a prime example of Twentieth Century Revival architecture inspired by the Beaux Arts style, a fact on display in the symmetrical façade, pilaster accents, and concrete cornices above the glazed brick parapet on the east and west corners. In the early 2000s, it was awarded a spot on the National Register of Historic Places.

After decades of sitting vacant, the site was purchased in 2018 by The Housing Partnership, Inc., a nonprofit focused on neighborhood revitalization. The Gateway on Broadway will feature 112 one-bedroom and four two-bedroom apartments for very low- to low-income seniors. The Louisville Metro Housing Authority will provide housing vouchers for all 116 units. The first floor will house a nationally recognized HUD-certified NeighborWorks America Homeownership Center and The Broadway Community Resource Center, a space for nonprofits committed to serving area residents.

“The Gateway on Broadway joins other projects in West Louisville that offer both affordable housing and community development resources,” Miller said. “For that purpose, we are proud to help The Housing Partnership breathe new life into a jewel of Louisville history. The Axton-Fisher warehouse will once again be a monument to the success of the Russell neighborhood.”

KHC has allocated more than $28 million for this $47 million project: $500,000 from the Affordable Housing Trust Fund, $1.7 million in housing credits, and $25 million in tax-exempt bonds. Other funders include PNC, HOPE of the Midwest, and the Louisville Affordable Housing Trust Fund.

Over the past 10 years, KHC has invested over $191 million in Russell and another $700 million in surrounding neighborhoods.