Part of downtown Louisville, Kentucky, is set to be a little busier now that the city’s third-tallest tower found an office tenant to fill out its lower floors.
The Louisville Metro Housing Authority, a nonprofit agency responsible for the development and management of federally subsidized housing, signed for about 56,000 square feet on the sixth, seventh and eighth floors of 500W, a 29-story tower at 500 W. Jefferson St. owned by real estate investment firm SomeraRoad.
The deal, one of largest office signings in the market since the pandemic, was selected by local industry professionals as winner of the 2025 CoStar Impact Award for lease of the year in the Louisville area.
The building recently underwent a major renovation project that included a new lobby, elevator upgrades and the creation of a tenant amenity space on the fourth floor.
About the deal: In January 2024, LMHA appointed new leadership, which led to the hiring of a significant number of staff. The agency’s current office facilities were too small to accommodate its restructured workforce.
A team with the brokerage Cushman & Wakefield, on behalf of SomeraRoad, set out to show how 500W was well equipped for LMHA’s operations. The building had three floors connected via internal stairwell, which would allow departments the ability to connect efficiently. On the first floor, a 2,000-square-foot space with a dedicated exterior entrance was available to give residents public access.
LMHA signed in December and is expected to move in May. The deal follows nearly 70,000 square feet of leases at the roughly 652,000-square-foot 500W in the past two years, including the Jefferson County attorney’s office, Baird, Louisville Business First, and Louisville Downtown Partnership, according to CoStar data.
What the judges said: "The lease significantly improved occupancy within the building and kept a large tenant in the [central business district]," John Beery, senior managing director at Valbridge Property Advisors said.
"Downtown has a huge impact on the trajectory of a city. I think it is worthwhile to promote office space utilization in Louisville's downtown buildings," Kezia Ramsey, retail branch manager, Monticello Banking Company.
They made it happen: Sam Gray, senior associate, Cushman & Wakefield; Brent Dolen, senior director, Cushman & Wakefield.