Developers are trying again to build riverfront condos
SHELDON S. SHAFER, The Courier-JournalThe group trying to build the long-stalled FallsHarbor condominiums on Louisville's riverfront has one last chance.
Tomorrow the board of the Waterfront Development Corp. will review the latest plan, which is for 80 condos in a row-house-style development.
FallsHarbor has been delayed by archaeological studies, partnership restructuring, environmental questions, Army Corps of Engineers reviews and other factors. Nor has the group ever been able to nail down financing for the project.
Now the developers hope to break ground this fall and have all units built by late next year. A 750square-foot, one-bedroom unit would cost $97,500 a three-bedroom with 1,800 square feet would sell for $234,000.
The units would be built atop a parking level so they would be above the flood plain.
The condos would be the first phase of FallsHarbor, expected to cost $12 million. The development would be north of River Road opposite Towhead Island, just upstream from the old Big Four Bridge.
Three local architects - Rick Kremer, Larry Leis and Bill Weyland - remain from an original group of investors to whom the city initially granted development rights to FallsHarbor a decade ago.
They are now joined by a large condominium-development company called Invsco Group Ltd. of Chicago. Invsco, which is now renovating The 800 Apartments at Fourth and York streets south of downtown, is the managing partner in FallsHarbor.
The developers think they finally have a plan ``that is financeable, affordable and doable,'' Kremer said.
Former Mayor Jerry Abramson said before leaving office Dec. 31 that he would drop the FallsHarbor group and rebid the rights to the project.
But his successor, Dave Armstrong, gave the developers one last chance because they have tried so hard for so long and because waterfront housing is so important, said his spokeswoman, Alicia Sells.
She said Armstrong wants the waterfront board to look ``with a new eye'' at what he considers ``an entirely new project.''
Several previous FallsHarbor plans proposed buildings of four or more floors and with common corridors and entries.
Those were expensive to build, and research found that buyers tend to prefer units with their own entrances.
The latest plan features two- and three-story units side by side along River Road, facing the Ohio River. They would have sloped roofs with large windows and exteriors of brick and siding, Weyland said.
Harold Leifer, Invsco's project manager for FallsHarbor, referred to the new design as ``urban clustering'' similar to patio homes. The market, he said, would include young professionals and ``single empty-nesters'' who don't want to mow lawns or worry about maintenance.
Leifer said several sources are interested in providing financing, but it can't be firmed up until the city grants the group the right to proceed.
The recent completion of the first part of nearby Waterfront Park will make the condos more attractive to buyers, Leifer said.
The relocation and widening of River Road, scheduled to be done by late this year, will be another asset, Weyland said.
David Karem, president of the waterfront corporation, said its 15-member board will make a recommendation to Armstrong on whether the design is acceptable and compatible with other riverfront plans.
He said the mayor has the final say, although the design of any plan chosen by the city must be approved by the Louisville-Jefferson County Planning Commission and again by the Waterfront Development Corp. board.
Karem declined to speculate on the board's reaction to the new plans.
The board's vice chairman, Creighton Mershon, said yesterday that he and other board members are ``frustrated that the project has not gotten off the ground.''
He added: ``I would like to see these folks succeed. They are our best hope. To start over would not be a happy thought.''
Another board member, Oliver Barber, said he is open to evaluating the new plans.
But he said he was ``skeptical about allowing them (the developers) to go forward. The board wants something as spectacular (in the project's design) as the waterfront itself.''
The FallsHarbor group has longrange plans to build at least 650 condominiums in six phases over the next eight to 10 years.
All would go on 58 acres north of River Road 18 acres at the site must remain open space because federal officials think a variety of archaeological remnants may be buried there.
Leifer said he thinks the market can absorb about 60 condos at the site every year.
The developers also have plans for 4I acres of commercial land in the target area, and they have some options on developing a new marina to replace the existing Louisville Municipal Boat Harbor.
The group is obligated to build - when phase two starts - some recreational facilities south of River Road, including two tennis courts, a basketball court, a baseball field, a shelter and parking.
The facilities would replace much of the old Thruston Park, which is being carved up by the relocation of River Road and the FallsHarbor housing.
The latest plan is for 80 condominiums in this row-house-style development. A 750-square-foot, one-bedroom unit would cost $97,500 one with three bedrooms and 1,800 square feet would sell for $234,000.
The latest plan, replacing one that envisioned taller buildings, is for two- and three story units facing the Ohio River. They would have brick and siding exteriors.