Bullitt County’s industrial activity is getting a significant jolt thanks to A number of multimillion-dollar projects that are either under development or in the midst of construction.
By Marty Finley – Reporter, Louisville Business First
Oct 6, 2015 Updated Oct 26, 2015, 12:15pm EDT
During a tour of Bullitt County’s industrial development parks on Tuesday, Louisville Business First received the lowdown on these project.
The biggest of these is a $165 million plan by Indianapolis-based Browning Investments LLC to construct about 4 million square feet of industrial space in five buildings that could range from 400,000 square feet to about 1.8 million square feet, said John Snider, executive director of the Bullitt County Economic Development Authority.
Bullitt County currently has more than 11 million square feet of industrial space, the bulk of which is spoken for.
Browning has more than 300 acres of mostly vacant land off Cedar Grove Road near Interstate 65 under contract to purchase from multiple families, and the properties have already been rezoned for light industrial use, Snider said.
The $165 million figure, Snider said, is just the raw buildings without tenant finishes. Browning Investments officials could not immediately be reached for comment about the project.
Snider said Bullitt County is attractive to developers because of its location on Interstate 65 near United Parcel Service Inc. and the aggressive approach that state and county officials in have taken to attracting business.
Other projects highlighted by Snider include:
- Louisville-based Flynn Group, which has developed projects at Cedar Grove Business Park and Settler’s Point Business Park in Bullitt County, is in the early stages of preparing a site near the junction of Ky. 245 and Ky. 61 in the Bardstown Junction area near for a projected 630,000-square-foot building that could be completed by summer 2016. When reached by Louisville Business First for comment Tuesday, Patrick Flynn, principal broker of Flynn Group, confirmed the project but said the company is not ready to discuss its plan for the property.
- Two industrial buildings are under construction behind the Gilt Groupe Inc. and Hillsdale Furniture LLC warehouses off the Brooks Road exit in Bullitt County. The buildings are being constructed by Franklin Logistics LLC, which has a Louisville office, and will cost more than $6 million to construct, Snider said. No tenants have been named for the property yet.
- Louisville-based Main Street Realty Inc., which has developed multiple industrial facilities in Cedar Grove and Settlers Point Business Park, finished construction of a 401,848-square-foot industrial warehouse this summer. It is being marketed for tenants by Louisville-based Harry K. Moore Co., which is handling leasing. Powell Spears, a managing member of Harry K. Moore Co., said Main Street has started construction on another 300,000-square-foot warehouse adjacent to the Best Buy Co.’s (NYSE: BBY) Bullitt County fulfillment center off Park Loop Road that should be done by early summer 2016.
Spears said Main Street has an option to construct another 100,000-square-foot space next door that could be built to suit.
Main Street president and CEO Ken Payne said the roughly 400,000-square-foot cost between $20 million and $22 million to develop and has gathered a lot of traffic from tenants looking to take half or more of the building. No deals have been signed yet.
That interest, he said, is what led Main Street to go ahead and start construction on the 300,000-square-foot building nearby, which could cost as much as $15 million to construct.
“We still feel very bullish about the Bullitt County market,” Payne said. - Lee Wilburn, president of Louisville’s Crossdock Development, has partnered with Houston-based real estate investor Pinchal and Co. to construct a roughly 210,000-square-foot industrial warehouse near the Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) fulfillment center properties in Shepherdsville. Wilburn could not immediately be reached for comment on the cost and a timeline for the project.
- A 631,000-square foot warehouse facility fronting Interstate 65 in Bullitt County’s Settlers Point Business Park has been on the market for several months, but it could have a taker. Nevada-based Dermody Properties LLC developed the facility, which is being leased by CBRE Inc. of Louisville. Snider said it appears a company is close to finalizing a deal to take the whole building and that the tenant could be announced later this month.
- Red Rock Development has roughly 140 acres under contract for purchase from multiple families in the Bardstown Junction area of Bullitt County near Clermont. Snider said the land was rezoned recently for light industrial use and likely will be the site of a major industrial building. But Red Rock, which has offices in Columbia, S.C., and Charlotte, N.C., has not formally announced its plans for the site.
In addition to a number of large industrial projects, Snider said there are ongoing negotiations to bring another grocery store to Bullitt County, though he declined to identify the store or its potential location.