Published: June 28, 2022 | Updated: July 27, 2022
Today, Goodwill Industries of Kentucky and Norton Healthcare broke ground on the Norton Healthcare Goodwill Opportunity Campus at 28th Street and Broadway that will include a 120,000 square-foot opportunity center and the first hospital west of Ninth Street in more than 100 years.
Together, both organizations are investing more than $100 million to transform a 20-acre brownfield site in the Parkland neighborhood into an “opportunity campus” that will house Goodwill’s headquarters operation, a full-service hospital and a collection of local social-service agencies that will work together to serve an estimated 50,000 people every year.
“The commitment we are making in West Louisville will not only revitalize a blighted 20-acre property, but it will also provide a powerful combination of resources to help strengthen the lives of many local residents,” said Amy Luttrell, president and chief executive officer of Goodwill Industries of Kentucky. “When it opens, we expect this campus to be a national model that will encourage people to look to West Louisville for an example of how to create an environment of hope.”
In February, Goodwill announced a partnership with Norton Healthcare to build the Norton Healthcare Goodwill Opportunity Campus, which will include a hospital in the heart of a community where many of its residents face disproportionate health issues.
“This event symbolizes our dedication to changing health outcomes to help people live their best lives,” said Russell F. Cox, president and chief executive officer of Norton Healthcare. “We are working together with health care providers, community members and local leaders to identify key services that will truly benefit the residents of West Louisville. Access to quality health care, prevention and specialty services are vital, and we have to look at innovative approaches to providing care.”
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At the groundbreaking, Governor Andy Beshear and other elected officials from across the commonwealth joined Goodwill and Norton Healthcare at the construction site to celebrate a development that will soon house a collection of life-enhancing services in one of Kentucky’s most underserved communities.
“This is truly a transformational day, not just for West Louisville, but for the entire commonwealth, because it means we’re one step closer to ensuring every single Kentuckian has access to good-paying jobs, quality health care and support services,” said Gov. Beshear. “Goodwill and Norton have shown us that by working together and investing where it counts, we can bring much-needed change for our people. This Opportunity Campus will lift up West Louisville and pave the way for ongoing growth and success for generations to come.”
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Goodwill and Norton Healthcare also used the groundbreaking ceremony to announce commitments to hire minority workers and utilize minority contractors to build each of their facilities on the Norton Healthcare Goodwill Opportunity Campus. Both organizations set goals to spend a minimum of 27 percent of their respective construction budgets for the campus with Minority-owned Business Enterprise (MBE) organizations and are committed to utilize minority workers to fill a minimum of 25 percent of the jobs needed to build their facilities. Additionally, Goodwill is encouraging vendors on the construction site to support its mission by hiring workers who live in West Louisville and also job seekers in need of second-chance employment opportunities. Norton Healthcare is committed to build on its existing educational partnerships to establish new pathways of fostering careers in health care in West Louisville and its other locations.
Collectively, Goodwill and the other nonprofit agencies that will operate at the Opportunity Center 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 Norton Healthcare Goodwill 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 200-400 construction jobs are expected to be created to help construct the facilities.
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 residents with limited employment and self-sufficiency resources. To address those needs, Goodwill is building a campus that will provide access to 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, University of Louisville College of Dentistry, Park Community Credit Union, the Kentucky College of Barbering, among other social service agencies, will co-locate with Goodwill in the facility.
In a separate building on the Norton Healthcare Goodwill Opportunity Campus, Norton Healthcare will open its new $70 million hospital. Comprehensive services will include adult and pediatric care, a 24-hour emergency department, 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. In addition, this hospital will provide prevention and early intervention services. This hospital will focus on prevention and early interventions along with providing specialty care. A community survey is currently underway to gain additional input from residents about services and features needed at this location.
The Goodwill “Opportunity Center” is expected to be complete in 2023, while Norton Healthcare’s hospital is expected to be complete in 2024. Details about the Norton Healthcare Goodwill Opportunity Campus – along with the renderings and results from a West Louisville community feedback report by Goodwill Industries of Kentucky – can be accessed on their website: www.GoodwillWestLouisville.com.