Colonial Gardens to be redeveloped in city deal

• The deal calls for the city to provide the property at no cost as well as a $1.2 million construction grant.
• Metro Councilman Dan Johnson said the redeveloped site may have as many as five new dining spots.
• Colonial Gardens has been closed and empty for a decade.

The city and developer Underhill Associates have reached agreement on the redevelopment of the historic Colonial Gardens in South Louisville across from the Iroquois Amphitheater.

The deal calls for the city to provide the property, which it bought last year for $430,000, at no cost as well as a $1.2 million construction grant to the Underhills, which developed the Westport Village project, as an incentive.

Mayor Greg Fischer said the deal will save a piece of Louisville history as well as bring new stores and restaurants to south Louisville.

"The Underhill family is committed to creating a vibrant, new future for Colonial Gardens, and the city is honored to partner with them on this economic key development project," Fischer said.

Metro Councilman Dan Johnson, D-21st District, whose district includes the site, said the city investment in the project is well justified. "We should do whatever it takes, because Colonial Gardens needs to be developed in the worst way. Our residents are not going to have to go out of the district any more to eat at a nice restaurant."

Johnson said the redeveloped site may have as many as five new dining spots.

Jeff Mosley, the city's director of economic development, and David Morris, a top assistant in the same metro department, said the Underhills have agreed to invest more than $2 million in the project. They said the agreement calls for the Underhills to develop at least 16,000 square feet of space on the property with new retail, restaurant or commercial outlets.

A Little Caesar's Pizza and a tire store operating on the Colonial Gardens property will be relocated, the city officials said.

The landmark complex in southern Louisville is located on New Cut Road across from the main entrance to Iroquois Park. The complex's revitalization is widely viewed as a major impetus for neighborhood economic development in southern Louisville.

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Fischer spokesman Chris Poynter said several members of the Metro Council from the southern part of town have agreed to draw on their discretionary funds to help cover the incentives to the Underhills. He said their expected total is to be around $250,000. Poynter said he isn't sure of the source of the rest of the city funds going into the construction grant.

The Underhills were the only developers who responded last summer to a city solicitation of interest in developing the property.

Richard Fields, manager of the Little Caesar's store, said Friday that "we like it here. Business is pretty good."

He referred questions to the store's principal owner, Mike Michalak, who didn't respond to a phone call or email.

Colonial Gardens has been closed and empty for a decade, and it was listed in 2012 as one of the 10 most endangered historic places in Louisville by Preservation Louisville.

The Underhills, led by brothers Todd and Jeff, didn't return phone calls Friday. Among many projects, the Underhills are currently working on redeveloping the old Goss Avenue antique mall into apartments.

The Underhills have said possibilities for Colonial Gardens include several family-oriented restaurants, a beer garden, ice cream shop and a "breakfast spot" — a place where people can gather before and after events at the nearby Iroquois Amphitheater.

The site contains a 21/2-story structure that would be restored and several smaller attached structures that city officials expect would be torn down.

The site dates to 1902 as Sennings Park and was the home of the first zoo in the city during Prohibition in 1920. The park closed in 1939.

B.A. Watson then built the Colonial Gardens restaurants, and during the 1940s and '50s many well-known bands and performers appeared there, including Elvis Presley.

Reporter Sheldon S. Shafer can be reached at (502) 582-7089. Follow him on Twitter at @sheldonshafer.