The Courier-Journal (Louisville)
Louisville Manor Hotel ordered to shut down following complaints
A South Louisville hotel has been ordered to close its doors indefinitely amid several concerns from the public, city officials announced Monday.
The Louisville Manor Hotel, located on Dixie Highway, will shutter Friday unless the decision is appealed by its owners, Department of Codes & Regulations Communications Specialist Emily Martin said.
Richard Price, director for the agency, said the decision comes from several concerns raised by the public and documented incidents of theft, assault and drug-related activities.
“Our goal is to ensure the safety of all residents, and as such, the closure of this establishment was deemed necessary and urgent,” he said.
Metro Council District 3 Representative and Executive Director of VOCALKY Shameka Parrish-Wright said it’s never the intention to shut down a viable business, but understands the damage a public nuisance can cause.
“Unfortunately and fortunately, ... it’s a double-edged sword. Motels like the Louisville Manor were popular because of the cheapness and the low barrier it takes to get a room,” she said. “Unfortunately, that also makes it a breeding ground for criminal activity of all kinds.”
Shively Police Department Public Information Officer Jordan Brown said the agency has made 202 runs to the hotel in 2024 for crimes like drug overdose, prostitution and sexual assault. They’ve also confiscated “large amounts of drugs.”
“We had one instance in particular where a gentleman was firing shots in the air out in the parking lot. We had someone stabbed down there,” Brown said. “Pretty much anything you can think of, it runs the gamut there.”
Brown continued, saying crime has increased at the establishment in recent years, impacting nearby businesses like
gas stations and a local daycare due to their proximity.
“It’s never been crime-free,” he said. “It’s always been someplace where we’ve had issues but from what I’ve observed in the past probably year or two, it’s just really gotten out of hand.”
Brown said the agency was previously working with the Department of Codes & Regulations to create a solution and implement changes at the Manor, as it was not their goal to “just come in and shut a business down.”
“Some of the regulations we tried to put into place initially, or get them to comply with, was some simple things like not taking cash payments for rooms. Things that a normal hotel would do like recording license plates of vehicles that are there, getting IDs from people renting rooms, adding some additional lighting to the parking lots,” Brown said. “Things like that just to try to mitigate some of the crime that’s happening there but that unfortunately did not work out so we obviously had to move on to the next step.”
Parrish-Wright, a housing advocate, said she was primarily concerned about the Louisville Manor Hotel displacing area residents using it for affordable housing, especially in District 3, and called the establishment Monday to confirm.
“She seemed to get frustrated and she hung up on me, but before she hung up she did confirm that there’s no one in a weekly or monthly rate to stay there,” she said.
She continued, saying places like Louisville Manor Hotel often provide low-barrier spaces to those who need them by accepting cash and allowing easy access.
“I also know that other side, not just from direct lived experience, but from professional experience about how those places, although they can be seen as a public nuisance, they’re also an option and sometimes the only option that people have to use before they’re on the streets or don’t have a place to heal or a place to go,” Parrish-Wright said.
Martin said it’s the department’s job to enforce the criminal activity nuisance ordinance in Chapter 149 after “multiple occurrences in the past 12 months.” The ordinance states hotels or motels with five or more incidents of illegal activity in areas of prostitution, gambling, drug offenses, etc. in 12 months become eligible for consideration.
The Department of Codes & Regulations delivered a notice of criminal activity nuisance violation to the Louisville Manor Hotel on July 23, which stated the owner had seven days from the receipt of that notice to request a meeting with the department to reach a resolution agreement, Martin said.
The agreement, which would have given the establishment “an opportunity to address the ongoing criminal conduct at the property,” was not met, Martin said, and an order to close was issued Friday.
“I want to see any business be successful, but I don’t want it to come at the cost of District 3 residents and public safety,” Parrish-Wright said.
She continued, saying if the establishment closes, she hopes it’s considered for a space similar to Hotel Louisville, a shelter and space provided by Wayside Christian Mission.
“With all of our housing needs, I would hope that older hotels and motels or places like that that are going out of business or are being forced to close could get new management and ownership that would help be housing for people because it’s already set up to be individualized,” Parrish-Wright said. “It has plumbing, it has a lot of the things that people can use to sustain and there’s a lot of people who could use that as a place to live.”
The hotel’s owners have not responded to requests for comment.