Mayor Greg Fischer today joined local leaders and business owners in an early kickoff for National Manufacturing Month in October.

Manufacturing is a major economic driver for the Louisville area, with 1,400 manufacturing companies employing approximately 83,000 people, representing 13 percent of the regional employment. Earlier this year, Forbes magazine ranked Louisville as the No. 1 city for manufacturing in the U.S.

Louisville Creating Affordable Residences for Economic Success (CARES) and the Louisville Affordable Housing Trust Fund (LAHTF) will be jointly hosting four informational meetings regarding the upcoming round of funding available for these two sources. This round of funding is comprised of $14.5 million dollars and is designed to provide gap and/or bridge financing to developers building affordable workforce housing or incorporating affordable workforce housing into market rate projects.

Following an extensive community engagement effort and a detailed review conducted by a committee of Metro staff and citizen volunteers, Mayor Greg Fischer today announced that the Louisville Urban League has been selected to develop a state-of-the-art multi-sports complex anchored by an indoor track and field facility on the 24-acre Heritage West property located at 3029 W. Muhammad Ali Blvd.

Mayor Greg Fischer today joined local small business owner Pam Haines to cut the ribbon on Sweet Peaches 2 Roll café located in the lobby area of the Nia Center, the city’s one-stop workforce and entrepreneurial development center located at 2900 W. Broadway. The café will offer coffee, tea, sandwiches, salads and a variety of freshly baked pastries and will be open 8 a.m. – 5 p.m.    

Seven businesses have been approved for nine loans totaling about $1.5 million by the Department of Economic Development’s Metropolitan Business Development Corporation (METCO), including the city’s first ever Business Accelerator loan approved to a new business locating in the Russell neighborhood. The loans will leverage a total investment of $8.71 million and will assist the companies to open, to expand services or to revitalize properties.

On August 21, 2017, Louisville Metro Housing Authority was selected to join the new ConnectHome Nation cohort alongside 30 other communities. These communities were chosen after an open application process and review by EveryoneOn.

From decreasing the amount of garbage put into the landfill to increasing the number of electric TARC buses and beginning work on recommendations in a groundbreaking urban heat study, Louisville Metro Government and its partners have made important environmental strides in the past year, according to the city’s annual Sustain Louisville progress report.