Bunkhouse, an Austin, Texas-based hospitality company, is launching a new hotel project in Louisville, scheduled to open in May of 2023. This will be the brand’s first hotel project in Kentucky.
The project — its name yet to be released — will be a new build at 726 E. Market St. in the heart of the Nulu neighborhood in Louisville. The hotel will feature 122 rooms on six floors, a restaurant, rooftop, mini market and intimate bar.
A neighbor of the hotel, Rabbit Hole Distillery, will partner with Bunkhouse and Mountain Shore Properties to develop an art garden at 724 E. Market St. that will help facilitate access from Market Street to Jefferson Street and enhance connectivity to the distillery from Market Street.
Bunkhouse is partnering with ROHE Creative, a female-owned and -operated design team based in Philadelphia, on the interior design of the project. Louisville-based Zimmer-Design will work with Bunkhouse on the branding of the hotel and other creative and community-focused aspects of the project.
The developer of the project, Charleston-based Mountain Shore Properties, has worked closely with the city of Louisville and received up to $1.8 million in tax credits after a unanimous Metro Council vote. In exchange for these tax credits, the development team presented a commitment to the local area, including non-profit partnerships and targeted hiring for residents.
Prior to Louisville Metro awarding a Local Property Tax TIF, the state of Kentucky awarded the project a Tourism KEIA from the Kentucky Tourism, Arts and Heritage Cabinet via the Kentucky Cabinet for Economic Development. These tax credits from both city and state were critical to the execution of the project.
The architect for the project is LLW Architects and the general contractor is McMurry Construction, both based out of Memphis. Construction will begin this fall with entry off of the back alley with contractor parking and storage contained within an adjacent property off of Jefferson and Shelby.
John Fischer of FISCHER’S Real Estate Brokerage & Betterment Haus, a commercial real estate brokerage and consulting firm based in Louisville, is the project’s consultant for community, incentives and approvals.
