Hopkinsville Mayor J.R. Knight is on a mission to revitalize downtown Hopkinsville and to encourage the development of more housing in the area, he recently launched the 24/7 Downtown Initiative.
The initiative was approved at Hopkinsville City Council’s February 4 meeting and will provide incentives to encourage property owners in the Downtown Renaissance District to convert vacant upper floors to residential units.
The city is providing up to $15,000 in financial assistance per residential unit renovation. Knight says the initiative serves to create more traffic in downtown while also addressing housing shortages.
Knight says downtown currently has up to 40 residential units that can be renovated. Revitalizing downtown has also come with some older and dilapidated structures being torn down. In 2023 the Phoenix Building was torn down and Knight says they are working with the property owner and investors to establish something new in the building’s footprint.
Knight says the city has so far received around 20 applications to renovate apartments through the initiative. He also says having more residents in downtown will also attract more businesses to the area.
In May, Knight says he and members of city staff will be attending a retail convention to meet with business chains about establishing stores in Hopkinsville.
According to data from the U.S. Census Bureau, the downtown area could support between 300 and 500 residential units.