HOPKINSVILLE, KY (CHRISTIAN COUNTY NOW) – During the Feb. 4 meeting, a municipal order was passed by the Hopkinsville City Council adopting the Mayor’s 24/7 Downtown Initiative. This promotes the development of upper-level apartments by offering financial incentives to assist with renovation costs of existing structures. The incentives will establish more residential apartments in the existing buildings, allowing the area to maintain historical integrity.

Hopkinsville Mayor J.R. Knight told Christian County Now that he has a clear vision for the future of downtown. This includes people living, working, and shopping in one place. The more housing that is available downtown, the more businesses will be interested in establishing themselves in the area.

“We’re trying to get more people to live downtown, more foot traffic,” said Knight, further explaining that the goal is to help investors with whatever funding they may need to encourage developments. “Either they can buy an HVAC, plumbing, carpet, anything they need to help remodel this apartment and get it back on the roll for the city of Hopkinsville and have people coming downtown.”

Funding

$200,000 will be set aside for initial program funding now that the initiative is passed. Details on the parameters for incentives were laid out in the document supplied to the council, which specifies that 50% of construction expenses including materials and labor will be reimbursed to the applicant up to $15,000.

The proposed funds for the program were transferred from the Inner-City REZ program. In the past, the city has provided $1.2 million in funds through the Legacy Hopkinsville Program between 2006 and 2024 for the Downtown Hopkinsville 50/50 Matching Grant Program. This resulted in an estimated $13.9 million private investment for the rehabilitation of properties downtown. Over 40 new businesses have opened or relocated within the boundaries of the Downtown Renaissance District as a result of the Downtown Hopkinsville 50/50 Matching Grant Program.

Knight added that there are 18 or 19 apartments currently being renovated, and about 30 are currently available for investors to purchase.