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| Established | September 25, 1986 |
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Chairman | Matt Thornton |
Director | David K. Karem |
Parent organization | |
Budget | $1.85 million (2006) |
Employees | 16 (2006) |
Volunteers | 100 (2006) |
The Waterfront Development Corporation (WDC) of Louisville, Kentucky is a non-profit/stock corporation created by the Kentucky General Assembly in 1986.
For many years before the Waterfront Development Corporation's founding in 1986 political leaders in Louisville had hoped to do something about what was perceived by much of the community as unattractive industrial areas and brownfields along the Ohio River in the downtown area. Due to the pressure of politics and the ever-changing makeup of the political leadership ideas and/or plans for the area's revitalization would often change. Community leaders sought to create an entity that would be insulated from electoral politics and therefore free to enact a long-term community vision for the revitalization Louisville Riverfront. An agreement to provide equal funding between the governments of Louisville, Jefferson County, and the Commonwealth of Kentucky led to the creation of the Waterfront Development Corporation.
Waterfront Development Corporation manages the downtown riverfront revitalization efforts, the centerpiece of which is Louisville Waterfront Park on the banks of the Ohio River. From the inception of the Articles of Incorporation WDC has been governed by a fifteen-member board of directors. Initially the board of directors was appointed equally between the three governments; this structure changed with the merger of Louisville, Jefferson County government. The post-merger structure has nine appointments from the city government and six from the state government.
After determining that a Downtown park was the public's favored redevelopment option the Board of Directors requested qualifications for creation of a Master Plan. After a lengthy review process of dozens of submissions the Board of Directors selected the Hargreaves Associates to create the Waterfront Park Master Plan. The Hargreaves plan was chosen as the submission that best connected the city back to its roots along the Ohio River, an example of this is the Great Lawn which actually connects the city grid to the river. The Great Lawn breaks the barrier of I-64 creating an open space between the river and Witherspoon Street.
The corporation's three-part mission includes oversight of the design and construction of Waterfront Park, operation of the park/ event coordination, and park maintenance. WDC also administers design review for properties within the Waterfront District (the Waterfront Review Overlay or WRO District).