Jefferson County Public Schools (JCPS) will be building a new middle school on land donated by a healthcare company. A permanent building for Dr. J. Blaine Hudson Middle School will be going up at 18th and Broadway in West Louisville on property being donated by Passport by Molina Healthcare, a subsidiary of Molina Healthcare. Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear, Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg and Ryan Sadler, plan president of Passport by Molina Healthcare were among those joining JCPS Superintendent Dr. Marty Pollio at the announcement.
“We always saw this as a great place to build a new middle school,” said Dr. Marty Pollio, JCPS Superintendent. “I never in my wildest dreams thought that they (Molina) would donate this property to us.”
Last year, Hudson became the first middle school opened in West Louisville since 1932 when it took over the former Wheatley Elementary School building. Needing more space to accommodate the addition of another incoming class of sixth graders, Hudson will swap spaces with the current Young Elementary School building for the 2024-25 and 2025-26 school years before landing in the newly constructed facility at 18th and Broadway when it’s expected to open in August, 2026.
For many years the land at 18th and Broadway was home to a huge Philip Morris plant before the cigarette maker shut down its Louisville operations in 2000. Hudson principal Jeronda Majors remembers touring the plant and hearing about its good paying jobs as a child.
“Years later, I learned that the significance of the site was not the company but more importantly the incredible resilience of people to learn, lead, and serve,” Majors said. “Now after decades, West Louisville will finally have an educational space where all are welcomed and where students at Hudson Middle School can continue the legacy to learn, lead, and serve and to discover many pathways to good paying jobs and fulfilling and impactful careers.”
After the Philip Morris plant was shuttered and torn down, the 20 acre site was targeted for various redevelopments including the headquarters for the former Passport Healthcare before construction stalled in 2019. Molina took ownership of the property with its acquisition of Passport and is now donating it to JCPS. Pollio said the aging, steel eyesore that’s currently on the site must be torn down and an evaluation of the land completed before construction on the new school can begin, “hopefully this fall.”
“Our kids at Hudson Middle School deserve to have the best facilities, teachers and support,” Pollio said. “And when students walk into this brand new school in a couple of years, they will get the message that this community cares about them.”