Public safety, housing, refitting vacant buildings, and expanding parks and libraries are all underway. Now comes the annual trek to Frankfort to pitch Louisville's visions for 2026 to the general assembly.
Episode Transcript
You're a news right away forty whas Louisville mayor Craig
Greenberger's with us. Happy holiday season to you, mayor thank you, Terry,
same to you. You work hard all the way through,
but I will start with exercise because you're committed to that.
I just want to remind people if somebody as busy
as you finds time, everybody can. What's your day look
like when it comes to that.
Speaker 2 (00:20):
I get up every morning incredibly early, depending on when
it starts. Usually I get up around five thirty five
forty five hop on the treadmill. I try to run
both weekend days because that I can start a little later,
and then two or three days during the week. I'm
at seven hundred and ninety one miles for the year
right now, so I've got across the eight hundred. I'll
try to do that this weekend. In terms of miles
(00:40):
that I've run.
Speaker 1 (00:41):
Oh yeah, you know what, dit it's easy.
Speaker 2 (00:44):
To keep track of that, so yeah, I'll hopefully get
past eight hundred and now I got to do more next year.
Speaker 1 (00:48):
So what have your previous year has been?
Speaker 2 (00:50):
Like?
Speaker 1 (00:51):
Six hundred? Last year?
Speaker 2 (00:52):
No, last year I was around like seven seventy. I
think or something so similar. But of course I got
to try to beat it.
Speaker 1 (00:57):
But when you're on the treadmill, you're not doing business.
Speaker 2 (01:00):
I am watching whatever show on Netflix I've been recommended.
Right now, I'm watching The Agency on Paramount Plus. I
just finished mob Land.
Speaker 1 (01:10):
So you do. Oh yeah, that's good. But you do
get to detach totally.
Speaker 2 (01:15):
I mean, and occasionally if you know something's coming up,
your brain goes down. But I find running as good
for my mental health and my brain as it is
for my body and my physical health.
Speaker 1 (01:24):
It's also good just for your marriage and everything else,
because your mind is you're not immersed in work all the.
Speaker 2 (01:30):
Time, absolutely, and there's always time. You just got to
make it a priority.
Speaker 1 (01:35):
Yeah, and we know that your son was at Brown
University and that shooting happened. Those shootings happen up there,
and it had to be horrific for you.
Speaker 2 (01:42):
Yeah, it was a really tough Saturday night for us,
and it was actually i'd seen you right there before
at the u of L Memphis game. That's when we
got the news in the second half there. So we
left early and run the phone all night with him,
and he's fortunately back home now.
Speaker 1 (01:54):
Good. Well, I'm sorry for that You've had to go on,
and so your life is, your life has been pretty
InCred I mean the resilience that you showed. I've always
said about you. You could have walked away from running
from mayor after what happened to you personally, but you
dug in and said I got a job to do.
Speaker 2 (02:11):
I use it as fuel, and this continues to fuel me,
and I feel like we've had a really good year.
I know there are a lot of people that are
still struggling out there. That motivates me to do even
more next year. But we've made a lot of progress
this year.
Speaker 1 (02:23):
Yeah, let's open a window and talk about some of
the things that have happened here in twenty twenty five
that are pushing us into a bigger, better twenty six.
Speaker 2 (02:30):
Well, let's start with public safety, and that's something you
and I talk about a lot. Chief Humfrey has done
a fantastic job. LMPDN is in a better place. Shootings
and homicides are down twenty percent since IBN Mayor's shootings
are down over forty percent. All that said, that's nothing
to celebrate. We know we have to do more, so
we're going to keep pushing forward on that. We're going
to keep pushing forward on building more housing. This year
(02:50):
we opened four new parks, two new libraries that we renovated,
a brand new pool in Algonquin Park. We'll do the
same next year and we open cam Taylor Park. Like
we finally have things that are really going in a
positive direction for our city. I just want to keep
the foot on the pedal there because we can do more.
We will do more, and particularly when it comes to
jobs and jobs creation and better paying jobs. A lot
(03:11):
of people are struggling right now and that's part of
the solution. In addition to bringing costs down, if people
are earning more, they'll lead a better life.
Speaker 1 (03:18):
I know the Forward company threw us a curveball with
the battery thing, and then that's partly Louisville's issue as well,
because we were expecting to send people that way. What
do we do now as a government entity to work
with them to try and turn this thing into a positive.
Speaker 2 (03:34):
Well, So hopefully it's a timing issue because it does
sound like they're committed just to a different type of
product that the Glen Glendale planned. But here in Louisville,
the Louisville assembly Plan. They made a two billion dollar
investment in the assembly line of the future for their
lower priced EV vehicles that in my understanding everything I
know that's still a go. So that's going to be
an incredible positive and I'm hoping that there are a
(03:55):
lot of suppliers and other new jobs that are created
around that. But we're constantly talking to our brands at
Forward and Ge Appliances, which made a big investment in
commitment to Louisville, creating eight hundred new jobs. We have
a large pipeline of new projects that are coming. So
I'm confident we're going to continue to create jobs even
when we do get the occasional you know, curveball like
we got recently.
Speaker 1 (04:16):
How much time do you have to spend fending off
other people trying to snarf away our companies, Like you
know that that has to happen. They have the people
that are come to poach what we have.
Speaker 2 (04:27):
Yeah, I think the key there is for us to
be proactive so that when companies start thinking of expanding,
they're really committed to doing here and they don't do
that process. The Ge Appliances that was a process. There
were other states that were competing for that, and we
fortunately won I think in large part because of their
good experience in Louisville. So we created a new organization
in the past year called louis Economic Development Alliance, and
(04:48):
that's exactly what they're doing, is doing a better job
of proactively reaching out the businesses big and small and
saying what can we do to help you? You know,
businesses aren't always thinking about moving right, but if you
you have a strong relationship with the city, with the government,
with the Economic Development Agency, odds are when it comes
time to make that investment, you're not going to look
(05:08):
anywhere else.
Speaker 1 (05:09):
And you've had enough of a career prior to being
mayor to know when you're possibly the city is possibly
being used as a wedge for something that somebody's trying
to get somewhere else, and so you can smell that
out and then walk away you can.
Speaker 2 (05:23):
And then also when you're thrown curveballs, what might be
perceived as a bad news, how can you turn it
into a positive? And I'll give you a good example
of that. You remember the headlines from not too long
ago the KFC was moving to Texas and everybody was
down on that as it was a disappointment. However, we
worked with young which still had five hundred and fifty
employees here and now here we are at the end
(05:44):
of the year. Yum has made a commitment to move
five hundred and fifty employees to downtown Louisville next year
at the PNC building, and we're talking to them about
some other exciting things that are going to be another
investment in Louisville as well that we hope to announce
next year. So that was a way that Okay, it
was negative news, but we use that. Okay, now we
have to really get even closer and see how can
we help you do something positive for the city.
Speaker 1 (06:06):
And that's what the next step is. We're visiting here
with the Lousvilles mayor, Craig Greenberg. How does the state
General Assembly figure into what happens here on January and February.
Speaker 2 (06:17):
Yeah, it's going to be a big part of our
twenty sixth story is the General Assembly session that starts
in January. We've already been working incredibly closely with legislators.
We have a lot of asks to make a lot
of investments in downtown in a new first responder training
facility in the South End OFFF Dixie Highway in Jefferson
Memorial Forest, in new roads and infrastructure for the East
and South End in particular that need that so much.
(06:39):
In improvis housing policy, we have a long agenda, and
I'm pretty optimistic. I'm cautiously optimistic about the beginning part
of next year. Working with the General Assembly, we have
totally ended any kind of war on Louisville.
Speaker 1 (06:51):
We've bridged the urban role divide.
Speaker 2 (06:54):
We're finding that we have so much more in common
than we do a part, and so I'm very thankful
for the relationships that we've been able to create.
Speaker 1 (07:00):
The leaders of the General Assembly that I've spoken with
always refer to Louisville as the economic engine of the state,
and if we're not thriving, everybody else suffers.
Speaker 2 (07:08):
That's right, and I think that's true. I think they
know that an investment in Louisville is a good investment
in the entire state. We serve so many people from
out in the state. Our tax revenue helps support things
out in the state, and so I'm really excited about that.
Even if they don't like our basketball or football.
Speaker 1 (07:24):
That's a minor issue, particularly right now. I know, well,
we're having a good run around here. That's to be lauded,
that's for sure. And then in terms of downtown buildings,
we've heard about a potential transformation of the human and building.
We know all that stuff. It's just kind of people
are talking and other buildings you mentioned KFC's coming in,
(07:45):
but we've still got work to do to deal the amount.
What is the vision in terms of what could be
housing versus what could right so a couple.
Speaker 2 (07:53):
I'm most excited about the new project that's going to
happen hopefully start next year right next to Slugger Field,
on that parking lot next to I sixty five. It's
going to be a lot of new apartments, new hotel,
new retail and restaurants. I'm really excited about the transformation
of the Belvidere, the human of Tower, as you mentioned.
And then also I'm proposing something to the General Assembly
to help give us a new incentive tool to convert
(08:14):
some of the buildings like right here Terry where we
are both ends of four Street live the Mining and
Tower and fifth third building. They're not yet historic, they're
mostly vacant. We know we have a bigger need for
residential or other uses than office space. So let's create
an incentive to fill those buildings back up, and I
think you'll see some movement on something like that in
General Assembly as well.
Speaker 1 (08:32):
Rebecca fly Shaker jumped on make for using the G
word grocery. She said, it's market. We need a market
that would be good and that's just something that goes
with Yeah, that's been a cher that's been one of
my frustrations there. Certainly we've had great progress.
Speaker 2 (08:45):
I've also had some frustrations at my time as mayor
and the inability to get a grocery store downtown.
Speaker 1 (08:50):
We've been working hard.
Speaker 2 (08:51):
It's incredibly challenging to do, but we're not We're not
going to stop trying.
Speaker 1 (08:54):
Rebecca, he said the G word that was not And
in terms of let's just talk to the citizenry again
about the thriving that's going on in our community, New
lou is just busting out the absolutely and it's been
upgraded in terms of the look, the sidewalks, the layout,
the moving of people through there, and some people are
(09:17):
still reluctant to I don't want to go down and it's.
Speaker 2 (09:19):
Like why We've done a lot to improve safety down
there as well. You know, even things in downtown and
a New Lou making sure the street lights work, cleaning
up the streets, adding more waste you garbage receptacles, cleaning
up the graffiti. We now have ambassadors that are in
downtown and New lou all the time. Our MPD officers,
you'll see a more walking around on bikes, on their ATVs,
(09:42):
on horseback, in their cars. We're really folk. Our downtown
area patrol is focused on there. There's a lot of activity.
You see it on the weekends. You know what's going
on downtown. And I encourage people if they haven't been
downtown recently, come for a game, come for a restaurant.
You'll have a positive experience.
Speaker 1 (09:56):
I work here every day and I've got friends up
and down the street. I go and visit with people
in the different little places around here, and they're just
I just feel the sense of the recovery is really strong.
Speaker 2 (10:06):
Now, that's what I'm sensing to well.
Speaker 1 (10:08):
I hope twenty twenty six is going to be a
big one for us here. I know you plan out
months ahead. Here is the calendar filling up.
Speaker 2 (10:14):
Yeah, We've got some fun announcements that'll kick off the
new year. I'm really excited for, you know, not too
far into twenty six, for the new UFL team, the Kings,
to start playing at Lint Family Stadium. That's going to
be fun. I think twenty twenty six is going to
be another positive year. And I really hope that some
of the unity that we saw in our community following
some of the tragedies this year, like the floods, like
(10:35):
the ups crash, when this community came together to help
one another, I hope that continues long into twenty twenty
six and beyond. And it's not because of a tragedy,
it's just because that's who we are here in Louisville.
Speaker 1 (10:46):
Well, some folks have been on to talk about the
cleanup and all that from the jet crash, that tragedy,
and that was really amazing to see all that team
just come together. It was out of something that was
just no one anticipated. And to see all that work,
it looks like people are going to be able to
get back into their buildings and get on with their
lives back there.
Speaker 2 (11:05):
Yeah, progress continues to be made every day. We've let
businesses enter more time in their buildings now when the
cleanup crews are not there, and we're going to continue
to work on that every day till it's done.
Speaker 1 (11:15):
Mayor Great. Talking to you again likewise, Terry, Happy holidays,
Happy Holidays. YouTube News Next on news Radio eight forty
w h A s.
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