Posted on March 2, 2026
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — The Louisville Riverport Authority announced it is starting a detailed master planning process to steer the future of the Louisville Riverport, a major industrial and logistics hub in the city.
Karen Fallon was born and raised in southwest Louisville and has lived there for nearly 60 years.
“It’s fun. It’s home. It’s good, hardworking people that really have a spirit of generosity,” Fallon said.
She works for Harbor House, which has deep ties to the community.
“Harbor House is an intergenerational life center that provides services for our community by providing day services for adults with disabilities, senior care, and we recently added a child care center that’s open to the community,” Fallon said.
She joined others to hear about the Louisville Riverport Authority’s plan to modernize the Riverport.
“Our comprehensive master plan will evaluate upgrades to our 40-year-old marine terminal, strengthen our rail and road access, improve resilience to flooding, which is always an issue in this part of the county, and prepare our sites for the next generation of manufacturers and logistics employers,” said Louisville Riverport Authority Executive Director Steve Miller.
According to the authority, the Riverport is a critical economic engine.
Leaders say that being in Foreign Trade Zone 29 provides businesses with cost-saving tools to compete in global markets.
Roughly 120 businesses in the area employ about 8,000 people.
The authority reported that Riverport businesses have over 8,000 employees, bring in more than $8.2 billion in revenue, and export nearly $5 billion annually.
“We want to make sure that economic impact grows in the years ahead,” Miller said.
Mayor Craig Greenberg, D-Louisville, said, “Southwest Louisville deserves every opportunity that every other corner of our city has. We are going to continue to invest there.”
Rep. Morgan McGarvey, D-Louisville, helped secure $1 million in federal planning funds, and the authority added $250,000 for the project.
“When we invest in Riverport and southwest Jefferson County, we are investing in jobs; we’re investing in the future of Louisville. And we are investing in a future I think is going to just continue to grow,” McGarvey said.
Fallon is optimistic about the plan.
“It’s about time, and thank you to our mayor, to Morgan McGarvey, and to all of the business leaders that fight for us,” she said.
Miller said that one year from now officials hope to have the plan ready to share with the public. He said they will then aggressively seek funding to build out improvements in phases over several years.
