Louisville is a city full of history, charm and grit. We’re the birthplace of Muhammad Ali, home to the Kentucky Derby and the heart of America’s bourbon culture.
As our city has grown, so have its business opportunities. Louisville’s geographic location, its logistics network and its diversified economy have attracted significant investment from global businesses to set down roots in recent years. In 2023, Louisville was named as a top 5 U.S. metro for economic development by Site Selection magazine with over $1 billion in capital investment and 2,300 new jobs that year alone.
Louisville’s overall commercial real estate market has grown along with the population, but the office market has had a softer rebound following the pandemic than other markets nationally.
Office overview
In second-quarter 2025, Louisville had over 235,000 square feet of positive office leasing activity that was negated by over 256,000 square feet of negative net absorption, primarily due to large move-outs from office users in the city’s suburban submarkets.
Leasing activity in Louisville’s Central Business District (CBD) has rebounded. In the second quarter, the submarket saw over 6,100 square feet of net positive absorption from Class A leasing activity, including the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office lease of 47,000 square feet at 515 W. Market St. This was negated by large vacancies in Humana Tower on Main Street, Meidinger Tower and 401 S. 4th Street, which could be possible targets for office conversions.
Going back to the first quarter, the Louisville Metro Housing Authority leased over 58,000 square feet at the 500W building on West Jefferson. Last year, the Army Corps of Engineers announced its plan to backfill 150,000 square feet of space that will be left by LG&E at 220 E. Main St, which it will occupy in 2026.
In the suburban markets, Class A vacancy increased to 17.2 percent due to several large move-outs. This has created opportunity for companies looking for large, move-in ready space, which has traditionally been hard to come by. CBRE is marketing 5200 Commerce Crossings with up to 100,000 square feet of office space available. Other big opportunities include 9390 Bunsen Parkway and 9721 Ormsby Station Court.
New construction
There are some exciting projects in the works in the region. CBRE is currently marketing the first phase of Chamberlain Woods, a speculative, Class A office/medical park with up to 300,000 square feet of office space available. With up to 300,000 square feet of office space available in the prime I-71/Brownsboro Road submarket, this is a top-tier project that matches the influx of high-quality office users looking for space in the area. The developer is in the early stages of clearing the land, but we anticipate a groundbreaking by the end of 2025 and delivery in 2027.
The NuLu District continues to be one of the most in-demand areas for companies looking for high-quality space. 750 East Jefferson (formerly called Mashup at NuLu Yard), a mixed-use development with about 65,000 square feet of office space, is expected to deliver by the end of the year, which will add additional space in one of the most sought-after submarkets in Louisville. Phase II of NuLu Marketplace is set to deliver in early 2026.
Office conversions
While higher office vacancy rates aren’t ideal, there is a tremendous opportunity for the city. The reality is that much of the vacant space in Louisville’s CBD isn’t usable in its current state.
At the end of 2024, the city announced the Downtown Louisville Building Conversion Program, targeting underused Class B and C office buildings for multifamily and hotel conversion in the urban core as part of the city’s broader Growing Louisville Together initiative. Tourism to Louisville is at an all-time high, welcoming about 19 million visitors and generating a record-setting $4.4 billion in tourism-related economic impact in 2024.
CBRE is tracking 16 office conversion projects in Louisville — 12 in the CBD submarket alone — that account for about 1.5 million square feet of office space. In the CBD, five buildings totaling 843,300 square feet have or will be converted to at least 570 multifamily units. Additionally, three buildings totaling 225,000 square feet have or will be converted to hotels, adding 204 new rooms.
The future is bright
As Louisville continues to evolve, the city’s strategic investments in infrastructure, adaptive reuse and innovation are reshaping the urban core. The momentum behind office conversions, coupled with a strong pipeline of development and public-private collaboration, signals a strong future for the city.
The message is clear to companies, investors and residents alike: Louisville isn’t just growing, it’s evolving.
— By Rick Ashton, CCIM, Senior Vice President, CBRE. This article was originally published in the September 2025 issue of Southeast Real Estate Business.