A downtown Louisville property long the subject of legal disputes has a new pickleball-focused future.
Omni Louisville Hotel is planning a new indoor and outdoor event venue on the 1.2-acre block adjacent to the hotel, according to an overlay permit filed Tuesday with the Louisville Metro Office of Planning.
Conceptual redevelopment plans call for an indoor restaurant, bar and entertainment space, as well a separate building with four indoor pickleball courts.
The block, bound by Second and Third streets and Muhammad Ali Boulevard and Post Office Alley, would also feature an outdoor game area, four outdoor pickleball courts and additional flexible event and gathering spaces.
The venues will be open to the public and also support the hotel and its guests, according to the filing.
The hotel is seeking to demolish the Odd Fellows Building, built in 1897, and an adjacent one-story garage that currently occupy the site at 211, 213 and 215 W. Muhammad Ali Blvd.
The Odd Fellows Building (right) in downtown Louisville sits in the shadow of the Omni Louisville Hotel. March 15, 2021
The fate of the building was in question for over a decade, after Louisville Metro Government signed an agreement with Dallas-based Omni Hotels and Resorts in 2014 for the redevelopment of the block. The city agreed to help remove legal blocks to the razing of the buildings, including possible landmark designation, once the hotel company figured out redevelopment plans for the space.
The Omni previously sought to demolish the building in 2019, setting off a years-long back-and-forth in local government and the courts over the fate of the structure.
The Louisville Historical League fought for the preservation of the building for years and took the matter to court but exhausted legal remedies after a February 2025 Kentucky Supreme Court ruling that upheld a 2021 Metro Council vote to strip the building of its local landmark status, clearing the way for demolition.
Following the court ruling, the hotel again sought a wrecking permit in April 2025 but could not proceed with demolition until filing the overlay permit.
Omni Hotels, in its new overlay permit application, noted the buildings need to be razed before it can perform environmental and soil testing, which would then enable architectural work.
The Odd Fellows Building in downtown Louisville, at 211 W. Muhammad Ali Blvd.
Nicole Kubitza, director of sales and marketing for the Omni Louisville Hotel, said Tuesday that the business has “always envisioned something on this site that would activate the area for both hotel guests and the local community” but declined further comment.
In the filing, Omni Hotels outlined a five-year timeframe that would get the site fully designed, permitted and prepared for construction, noting construction would not start until at least five years after the demolishing of the buildings on site.
Reach growth and development reporter Matthew Glowicki at mglowicki@courier-journal.com or 502-582-4000.
This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Omni Hotel plans pickleball, entertainment venue for Odd Fellows land