Published: February 23, 2022 | Updated: February 24, 2022
Goodwill Industries of Kentucky, Norton Healthcare and Governor Andy Beshear today announced a $100 million investment in West Louisville that will bring a collection of life-enhancing programs and services to one of Kentucky’s most underserved communities.
The investment will transform a 20-acre brownfield site located at 28th Street and Broadway into an Opportunity Campus that will house Goodwill’s headquarters operation, career services, a collection of local social service agencies and Norton Healthcare’s new $70 million hospital. Norton Healthcare’s investment includes $7 million that will be used to purchase the land for the hospital, as well as to support the transformational services that will be provided on the campus.
“When we determined we wanted to have a presence in West Louisville, we wanted to do it in a way that would have a lasting impact on the community,” said Amy Luttrell, President and CEO of Goodwill Industries of Kentucky. “We believe our Opportunity Campus will be the beginning of significant change for the people in West Louisville who are looking for pathways out of poverty.”
West Louisville is a nine-neighborhood community where the median household income is $21,000. The area has endured years of disinvestment that has left many of its 65,000 mostly African American residents underserved in a community that has limited employment opportunities.
To address those needs, Goodwill is building a 120,000 square-foot facility on its Opportunity Campus that will be used as a one-stop shop for people who need help removing the barriers that prevent them from establishing self-sufficient lifestyles. Visitors to the campus will be able to access job training programs, legal support, youth mentoring, restorative justice services, drop-in childcare, personal grooming options, behavior and mental health treatment and second-chance banking.
Big Brothers Big Sisters, KentuckianaWorks, Volunteers of America, the YMCA, Legal Aid Society, Park Community Credit Union, Shawnee Christian Healthcare Center and the Kentucky College of Barbering will all co-locate with Goodwill Industries of Kentucky in the $30 million facility at the Opportunity Campus to offer West Louisville residents an unprecedented collection of life-enhancing services all under one roof.
Collectively, the agencies are expected to bring more than 200 jobs to West Louisville at an average annual wage of $59,000 and will serve approximately 50,000 people every year with their programs, services and campus offerings. The career services programs at the Opportunity Campus are expected to have a cumulative annual impact of $18.7 million by helping to place more than 600 job seekers into full-time employment with businesses throughout the region that pay a minimum of $13 per hour. Another 200 construction jobs are expected to be created to help build the facility.
In a separate 40,000 – 60,000-square-foot building on the Opportunity Campus, Norton Healthcare will open the first hospital in West Louisville in more than 100 years. Comprehensive services will include adult and pediatric primary care physician offices, emergency room services, inpatient services and outpatient functions. Imaging services, including X-rays and CT scans, will be available, along with specialty services such as women’s health, cardiology, neurology and endocrinology. This hospital will be unlike any other medical facility in West Louisville. The new Norton Healthcare hospital will create approximately 100 new jobs in West Louisville with an average salary of $60,000.
“Norton Healthcare has been intentional about providing access to quality medical treatment by eliminating obstacles so all residents can live a healthy and prosperous life,” said Russell F. Cox, president and CEO, Norton Healthcare. “This state-of-the-art facility will help us continue to bring health equity to the forefront. A person’s ZIP code should never define their health status and their ability to receive care.”
The Opportunity Campus is expected to be complete in 2023 when Goodwill Industries of Kentucky will celebrate its 100-year anniversary. Norton Healthcare’s facility is expected to take 18-24 months to complete.
“Access to quality health care, jobs and life-enhancing services is how we can better the lives of our people, break cycles of poverty and create a better future for every Kentuckian,” said Gov. Andy Beshear. “This investment by Goodwill Industries of Kentucky and Norton Healthcare will truly move West Louisville forward and create a lasting impact for this area and our people for generations to come. I am thankful for these two organizations and their commitment to investing in West Louisville and our people.”
Details about the Opportunity Campus – along with the results from a West Louisville community feedback report by Goodwill Industries of Kentucky – can be accessed on the website: www.GoodwillWestLouisville.com.[vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/2″]
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