Text received from
REX Architects 26 Oct 2007
Landmark Skyscraper Breaks Ground in Louisville
Construction Begins Immediately on Kentucky’s Largest Ever Public-Private
Project
Museum Plaza will change Louisville's skyline. This
is what it will look like upon completion in 2010. (PRNewsFoto/Museum
Plaza)
(Louisville, KY) – October 25, 2007 – Developers in Louisville
broke ground Thursday on the landmark Museum Plaza project, a $490 million
skyscraper that will transform the city’s skyline.
“Museum Plaza will be one of the world’s most unique new skyscrapers
— a structure that integrates art at every level,” Louisville
Metro Mayor Jerry Abramson said.
Designed by a world-renowned team led by Joshua Prince-Ramus and Erez
Ella, Museum Plaza is a 62-story skyscraper with an innovative design
and mission, combining arts, commerce and residential space. Stretching
more than 700 feet above Louisville and the Ohio River, this new cultural
center will house 165 luxury condominiums; 300,000 square feet of class-A
office space; a 260-room Westin Hotel; and the University of Louisville
Master of Fine Arts program. The island, located 24 stories above ground,
will be a hub of activity with a 35,000 square-foot world-class contemporary
arts center, a luxury spa, pool and fitness center, a condo club, ballroom,
restaurants and retail. The plaza will feature a new three-acre public
park with connections to the Muhammad Ali Center and the riverfront.
“The Museum Plaza ownership team is committed to placing culture,
physically and spiritually, at the project's center,” Joshua Prince-Ramus
said. “This commitment has been a catalyst for innovation."
Joshua Prince-Ramus and Erez Ella of REX in front of
the 20-foot, 400 pound shovel that broke ground on Museum Plaza. (PRNewsFoto/Museum
Plaza)
Governor Ernie Fletcher and Louisville Metro Mayor Jerry Abramson joined
developers Laura Lee Brown, Steve Wilson, Steve Poe and Craig Greenberg
as a 20-foot, 400-pound shovel dropped from a crane to symbolize the beginning
of construction on the project. Museum Plaza is expected to open in Spring
2011. Condo reservations are now being taken at the Museum Plaza Sales
and Design Center at 707 West Main Street in Louisville.
“Today is a day that we have all looked forward to since unveiling
the plans for Museum Plaza in February of 2006. Museum Plaza will be a
unique development to Louisville symbolizing a great marriage of the arts,
commerce and urban living,” said Governor Fletcher. “This project
is an example of forward thinking in more than just design. This project
shows the potential for urban redevelopment through the use of Tax Increment
Financing. Today is a great day for all of Kentucky. I look forward to
breaking ground on many more projects like this one in the future.”
More than 1,000 people attended the ceremony. Developer Steve Poe thanked
the community, government and business leaders for joining together to
make Museum Plaza a reality.
Museum Plaza will change Louisville's skyline. This
is what it will look like upon completion in 2010. (PRNewsFoto/Museum
Plaza)
“This celebration is not about the construction of a building, but
that of a community and its elected officials who have worked together
to accomplish a magnificent goal – to build one of the biggest and
most unique projects in the Midwest,” Poe said. “This is truly
an example of a win-win, public-private partnership. Without public involvement,
the project would never have gotten started; without the private sector
investment and the new tax revenue generated by the project, the public
infrastructure would never have been funded.”
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Museum Plaza Louisville:
page - adrian welch / isabelle lomholt
Museum Plaza Louisville - Website: www.museumplaza.net