Apartments Near UofL Health Sciences Campus: Downtown and NuLu Picks for Med, Dental and Nursing Students

The best apartments near UofL's Health Sciences Campus are downtown and in NuLu, not on Belknap. From Vue at 3rd Street, the walk to Kornhauser Library on South Preston Street is about 0.7 miles, roughly 15 minutes, and one-bedrooms there list from $899. NuLu's East Market Street blocks are the same 15-minute walk. The student complexes near Belknap Campus sit 2.5 to 3.2 miles away by foot.

Key Takeaways

• The Health Sciences Center (HSC) is its own downtown campus. It holds UofL's schools of Medicine, Dentistry, Nursing, and Public Health and Information Sciences.
• Vue at 3rd Street is the closest building on FMP's UofL page: about 0.7 miles on foot to Kornhauser Library, with studios and one-bedrooms at $899 to $999.
• NuLu is a 15-minute walk from Kornhauser (we measured from the 700 block of East Market).
• Highland Station on East Broadway is a sleeper pick. It's 1.2 miles from Kornhauser on foot, but 3.3 miles from Belknap.
• Skip the per-bed complexes south of Belknap if HSC is where you spend your days (Trifecta and The Marshall are 3.2 miles from Kornhauser).
• TARC Route 3 links the medical district and Belknap every 15 minutes, and it's free with a UofL ID.

Where UofL's Health Sciences Campus Is and Why It Changes Your Search

UofL's Health Sciences Center sits in downtown Louisville's medical complex, not on the main campus. Its anchor points are on South Preston Street: the School of Dentistry at 501 South Preston and Kornhauser Health Sciences Library at 540 South Preston. Belknap Campus is roughly 2.5 miles south by road.

That split matters more than most first-years expect. Almost every student-housing listing near UofL is built around Belknap, with per-bed four-bedrooms, a shuttle loop and a walk to Ekstrom Library. If you're a med, dental or nursing student whose classes, labs and clinical rotations happen downtown, those buildings put you on the wrong side of town.

So the search flips. Instead of "how close to Cardinal Boulevard," ask "how far to Preston and Chestnut."

Walking Distances From UofL-Area Apartments to Kornhauser Library

Of the areas we checked, only downtown and NuLu are within a 15-minute walk of HSC. We measured walking routes with OpenStreetMap from each building's street address to Kornhauser Library, and to Ekstrom Library on Belknap for comparison. These are walking routes, not straight lines.

• Vue at 3rd Street, 537 South 3rd St: 0.7 miles to Kornhauser (about 15 minutes). Belknap is 2.6 miles.
• NuLu (700 block of East Market St): 0.7 miles, also about 15 minutes.
• Highland Station, 1172 East Broadway: 1.2 miles, roughly 26 minutes. Belknap is 3.3 miles.
• Lofts on Ormsby in Old Louisville: 2 miles to Kornhauser. It's closer to Belknap (1.5 miles).
• The Avenue in the Highlands on Everett Ave: 2 miles.
• Cardinal Village, Trifecta and The Marshall: 2.5 to 3.2 miles. Great for Belknap. Not for HSC.

One thing to know about FMP's own commute widget: it measures to Belknap. Vue shows "2.3 mi" to UofL on its listing page, even though it's one of the closest buildings to the medical campus.

Downtown Apartments Near HSC: What They Cost

Downtown near HSC means paying for a whole apartment, usually a studio or one-bedroom. Vue at 3rd Street lists a studio and a junior one-bedroom at $899 and its other one-bedroom plans at $999. Every plan there is a single-occupancy unit, so that's the full rent, not a per-person share.

Compare that with Belknap. FMP's UofL off-campus housing cost breakdown puts the median studio or one-bedroom near UofL at $1,057. So downtown isn't a premium. It just doesn't come with the $609 to $800 per-bed options you'll see south of campus.

My honest take for a first-year med or dental student: pay for the short walk. Anatomy lab and early clinical mornings make the commute the most expensive part of your day, and a $899 one-bedroom 15 minutes from Kornhauser beats a cheaper bed three miles away.

NuLu for Health Sciences Students: Close, Walkable and Thin on Student Listings

NuLu is the East Market Street district just northeast of the medical campus, and it's the most walkable neighborhood to HSC after downtown itself. The walk from the 700 block of East Market to Kornhauser is about 0.7 miles. FMP's Louisville page calls out "the artsy blocks of NuLu and Butchertown" as student-friendly areas.

Full disclosure: none of the 12 buildings on our UofL off-campus housing page sit in NuLu yet. Expect conventional apartments rather than student-style leases, which usually means an income or credit check, a 12-month term and whole-unit pricing. If you're coming straight from undergrad, have your guarantor or proof of income lined up before you tour.

The Highlands and Old Louisville: The Middle-Distance Options

Highland Station is the best middle-ground pick for HSC students who want a neighborhood with restaurants and nightlife. It sits on East Broadway, 1.2 miles from Kornhauser on foot. Studios list at $1,189, one-bedrooms run $1,229 to $1,649, and two-bedrooms run $1,599 to $2,319. Rent rises with size there, so those are whole-unit prices. Split the $1,599 two-bedroom with a classmate and you're near $800 each.

The Avenue in the Highlands on Everett Ave lists one-bedrooms at $1,115 and $1,239, but it's 2 miles out. That's a bike or bus commute.

Old Louisville is the opposite case. Lofts on Ormsby at 512 West Ormsby Ave lists studios from $700, but it's 2 miles from Kornhauser and 1.5 from Belknap. It works best for a nursing student who splits time between both campuses.

Getting Between HSC and Belknap Without a Car

TARC Route 3 is the main bus link between the two campuses. Under TARC's new network, launched August 2, 2026, Route 3's core segment runs every 15 minutes through the Louisville Medical District at Preston and Jackson Streets and on to UofL's Belknap Campus. UofL students ride TARC free with a valid UofL ID. Our guide to UofL apartments by bus maps which buildings sit near each stop.

On the medical campus itself, UofL runs a separate HSC shuttle. According to UofL Parking and Transportation, it runs Monday through Friday from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m., about every 15 minutes. It makes four stops: the 620 Garage on East Madison Street, the Dental School, Kornhauser Library and the Chestnut Street Garage. It's free for any UofL student or employee.

An older shortcut has gone away. The Belknap-to-HSC shuttle that became TARC Route 28 back in 2020 isn't part of the new network, so ignore older guides that tell you to catch "the 28."

Frequently Asked Questions About Apartments Near UofL's Health Sciences Campus

What's the closest apartment to the UofL Health Sciences Center on FMP?

Vue at 3rd Street. It's at 537 South 3rd Street, about a 0.7-mile, 15-minute walk to Kornhauser Library, with studios and one-bedrooms listed at $899 to $999.

Should UofL med students live near Belknap Campus?

Usually not. Belknap's student complexes are 2.5 to 3.2 miles from Kornhauser on foot, and they're built around undergrad schedules. Live downtown, in NuLu or along East Broadway if most of your classes and clinicals are at HSC.

Is there a shuttle between Belknap and the Health Sciences Center?

Not a dedicated one anymore. Use TARC Route 3, which runs every 15 minutes between the medical district and Belknap and is free with a UofL ID. The UofL HSC shuttle only loops the medical campus.

How much are apartments near the UofL medical campus?

$899 is the starting price for a studio or one-bedroom at Vue at 3rd Street downtown. Highland Station on East Broadway starts at $1,189 for a studio. Expect to pay for a whole unit near HSC, since the per-bed student complexes are all near Belknap.

Is NuLu a good place for UofL nursing or dental students to live?

Yes, if you can handle market-rate rent and a standard lease. It's about a 15-minute walk to Kornhauser, and the restaurants on East Market are right there. FMP doesn't list a NuLu building on its UofL page yet, so you'll be searching conventional apartment listings.