Promoting Economic Growth

The KIPDA region boasts a strong regional economy with health care and social assistance, manufacturing and retail trade leading as the top three largest industries. To remain competitive, the region must also address workforce alignment, housing affordability, and infrastructure upgrades that directly impact employer attraction and retention.

Louisville Metro Government has supported key “buy local” initiatives such as Community Supported Agriculture, Farmers Markets, and Buy Local Fairs to enhance the regional economy by recirculating revenue throughout local communities. Some of these initiatives focus on agriculture and good production since there is still ample farmland available in the region. These opportunities for sustainable local food economy to emerge would help mitigate disparities in food accessibility and bolster urban and rural synergy and workforce collaboration.

Public-private partnerships and the leadership of local governments to promote business development and assistance programs must continue to be a priority for the regional economy to grow and thrive. An example of this being put into practice is the Louisville Economic Development Alliance which was created in 2024 as a public private partnership to promote economic development in Jefferson County.

Increased employment opportunities in economically depressed and under-served areas is a challenge that must be addressed in order to make sure that income disparity does not decrease the quality of life in both urban and rural communities. Sustainable development will help to improve the quality of the built environment in the area by allowing for economic activity to occur responsibly within the region’s carrying capacity. Collaboration on economic development projects that cross jurisdictional boundaries will be required in order for the region to successfully maximize its economic potential.

The manufacturing industry includes 11.1 percent of the total workforce in the region. The diversification of businesses and industries must be promoted in order to provide a wide array of employment options and allow for a more sustainable and resilient economic environment. In today’s evolving workplace access to high speed internet and technology is becoming increasingly necessary. In order to remain competitive and recruit a larger employer base it is imperative that technological advancements continue in all industry sectors.

Strategies

Retain business and encourage expansion to enhance the region’s economic base

  1. Actively promote local, state, and federal business development and assistance programs.
  2. Improve access to capital for a wide range of businesses in an equitable manner.
  3. Increase opportunities for growth and development in economically depressed and underserved areas.
  4. Enhance the quality of life in the region in order to attract and retain a highly-skilled workforce.
  5. Support a diversified supply chain for procurement to promote inclusive economic growth best practices.
  6. Strengthen workforce pipelines by expanding partnerships with KCTCS, local school districts, and universities to provide sector-specific training in high-demand industries.

Encourage public-private partnerships to advance the economy in Louisville Metro and the KIPDA region

  1. Promote increased collaboration and communication between the urban and rural public sector and private entities for future projects.
  2. Identify current high growth clusters and future development opportunities throughout the region.
  3. Identify regional driven projects and job creation opportunities. 

Promote sustainable development measures to ensure smart targeted growth

  1. Promote the diversification of industries and businesses.
  2. Pursue the development of clean industries such as clean energy, EVs, energy storage, etc.
  3. Encourage economic activity to occur within the region’s environmental carrying capacity.
  4. Promote higher density, infrastructure supported development to occur.
  5. Encourage the use of policies and incentives that increase revitalization efforts, specifically the redevelopment of brownfield sites.
  6. Integrate climate resilience strategies (flood control, energy grid modernization, disaster recovery planning) to strengthen long-term economic stability.
  7. Support projects that bolster the local food economy.

Generate a regional economic strategy that crosses jurisdictional boundaries

  1. Continue hosting the quarterly Regional Planning Council.
  2. Promote regional collaboration between local government, public services, non-profit organizations and local businesses to better plan and coordinate regional economic development efforts. 
  3. Work across state lines with Indiana to broaden regional collaboration. 
  4. Establish dedicated rural revitalization initiatives to support main street programs, agritourism, and remote work hubs in smaller towns.

Continue to improve access to high-speed internet, data, and technology throughout the region

  1. Continue to work as needed with the Kentucky Office of Broadband Development and local municipalities throughout the region to improve high-speed internet access. 
  2. Continue to collect and improve Geographic Information Systems (GIS) data to meet the needs of the counties within the KIPDA region. 
  3. Improve accessibility to all regional GIS and document files by providing data on KIPDA’s website. 

FUTURE MILESTONES

  • Creation of quarterly CEDS committee at KIPDA
  • Educate and connect local officials with public-private partnership opportunities
  • Identify broadband service gaps
  • Promote Build Ready sites
  • Create a revolving loan fund with EDA funding to support economic development and job creation in the region

*For more information on Build Ready sites, visit Think Kentucky: Build Ready

Metrics

  • Jobs created in targeted under-served areas
  • Number of workers completing sector-based training programs annually
  • Volume of new regional driven ventures
  • Number of brownfield sites being re-developed
  • Availability of regional data
  • Population Growth within the Region
  • Median Income Growth in the Region
  • Coordinated planning efforts leading to securing State and Federal Funding (DOT/EDA/HUD/EPA)
  • Increase in number of submissions/participation in State PDI initiative

Success Stories

Angel’s Envy Distillery
The Henry County Fiscal Court, in partnership with Louisville Distilling Co. and Carrollton Utilities, was awarded nearly $2 million in federal funding from the Economic Development Administration (EDA) and the Kentucky Department for Local Government’s Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program. 

EDA funding is made possible via the American Rescue Plan Act, which allocated $3 billion in supplemental funding to the EDA for accelerating the economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic and building local economies that will be resilient to future economic shocks.

Funds will be utilized to expand sanitary sewer access for the planned Angel’s Envy distillery site located between Campbellsburg and New Castle. Approximately 14,000 linear feet of sanitary sewer force main and a pump station will be installed, providing services for the distillery’s employees and visitors.

Staff of KIPDA’s Community and Economic Development Division assisted with grant application and management processes to secure funding and will work with project partners to administer the project.

Louisville Economic Development Alliance

The Louisville Economic Development Alliance (LEDA) is a public-private partnership and is the principal economic development entity for Louisville-Jefferson County. The public-private partnership is charged with leading business attraction, retention, and expansion efforts, as well as supporting small businesses and convening partners around talent development, small business and entrepreneur development, finance and bonding, and policy analysis, research, and advocacy.

Entrepreneurial Support Organizations

XLerateHealth
XLerateHealth’s accelerator programs include an intensive three-month lean startup “boot camp” and a multi-year virtual incubator. The accelerator targets healthcare companies and has been named one of the top 50 accelerators in the U.S. each of the last two years by the Small Business Administration.

The Vogt Awards
The Community Foundation of Louisville’s Vogt Invention & Innovation Awards, focused on supporting entrepreneurship in the Louisville region, is the longest-standing program of its kind. Through an endowment left by Henry V. Heuser, Sr. in 1999, the Vogt Awards uniquely allows founders to retain full ownership of their business as they leverage a 10-week startup education program and mentorship in addition to an infusion of capital to accelerate their company’s growth. Established by Henry Vogt Heuser, Sr., the Vogt Fund and Awards were created to strengthen Louisville’s economic health by supporting innovative startups and inspiring entrepreneurship. This initiative plays a critical role in our community’s economic growth as a city that’s poised to be a break-out for startups: ensuring the support and success for new and future businesses.

The Russell Tech Business Incubator
The Russell Tech Business Incubator (RTBI) is the first business incubator for Black entrepreneurs in west Louisville. Black business owners will have access to services and resources through RTBI to help them get started, succeed and grow. Services from marketing and finance to sales and technical advice along with business coaches will help support new growth and sustainable businesses.

Build-Ready Site Inventory

KIPDA worked in coordination with the Kentucky Cabinet for Economic Development to develop an inventory of build-ready sites. Each ADD was in charge of developing their own inventory for their respective region. The project used ZoomProspector to build the inventory for use by potential businesses wanting to relocate or expand in Kentucky. The project allows the user to see pictures of the location, utility information and capacity, specifications and characteristics of the site, broadband availability, satellite imaging with various map layers, etc. In addition, the website shows region specific labor force information, demographics, wages, consumer expenditures, education attainment, and other industries in the area. The site is currently in use with plans for future improvement.

Louisville Hispanic Chamber of Commerce

The Louisville Hispanic Chamber of Commerce hosts the Derby Pitch event which is the biggest Latin/Hispanic Derby Party and the largest gathering of Latin/Hispanic entrepreneurs, investors, and professionals in Kentucky. This event brings angel investors groups to Louisville and provides training for business owners in the area.