LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Goodwill Kentucky laid out its intentions to buy the NIA Center on West Broadway from TARC and turn it into 76 affordable housing units.

What You Need To Know

  • Goodwill Kentucky will purchase the NIA Center from TARC to create affordable housing development

  • Tenants must vacate their office space by the end of the year, but will not be forced to pay rent for the rest of their stay

  • Small business owners lamented the handling of the situation, citing logistical issues for relocation in just six-months time

  • The purchase is part of a larger plan to expand its footprint in the city’s West End after their west Louisville Opportunity Center opened in 2024

But the intended good deed has rocked the foundation of business owners like Regina Whitlow who use the NIA Center to serve their communities.

“I have not started looking yet, the shock is still on me,” she said.

She’s had office space in the NIA Center for a decade, been an entrepreneur for three times as long, and has been a hairstylist for half a century.

Rumors of the pending sale had been rumbling for a while, but said this week’s announcement didn’t lessen its impact.

“It’s not about money, it’s also too just building that clientele base. And customers become just like family,” she continued. “I have one client that’s been with me for 47 years. When I think about the change, my customer’s faces pop up.”

Tenants no longer have to pay rent for their remainder of their time in the building, but other tenants like Angela Hollingsworth said that’s not enough of a lifeline to find a new location.

“You would think that would be a compensation for the inconvenience, but it’s not because the rent is so low that that wouldn’t even pay moving charges,” she said.

Hollingsworth is the executive director of the non-profit STYC, or Shawnee Transformation Youth Coalition, and they provide youth services that range from substance use and violence prevention to mental health promotion.

To receive funding for her organization, she’s got strict guidelines to follow.

“My federal grant states that I must work in a certain area-- Which is the 40211, 40212, 40210, zip codes. There are few – maybe none – spaces available for this type of organization,” she said.

Both Whitlow and Hollingsworth understand business is business, but they both told Spectrum News the way the situation was handled wasn’t ideal.

In a statement following their announcement, Goodwill Kentucky CEO Amy Luttrell said, “Goodwill’s intent has always been to help build a stronger West Louisville with expanded services for those who need them the most, and we acknowledge the role the NIA Center has played.”

However, Hollingsworth thought there was a compromise through mixed-use development that could have been discussed.

“That’s not uncommon and actually it’s becoming a common practice in other cities where they have businesses on the lower level and residents on the top,” she said.

Their situation resembles a catch-22 in that Goodwill’s plan addresses a need within Louisville, but also disrupts small business owners who already have odds of success stacked against them so frequently.