Outlet mall planned off I-64 in Shelby County

Written by Sheldon S. Shafer - The Courier-Journal

A Michigan developer has filed plans with the Army Corps of Engineers in Louisville to build a large outlet shopping mall along Interstate 64 at the Simpsonville exit in Shelby County, just east of the Jefferson County line.

The plans show that Horizon Group Properties, based in Muskegon, Mich., intends to build the

Outlet Shoppes at Louisville/Lexington just southwest of the I-64 interchange at Ky. 1848.

It is proposed to have nine buildings totaling about 355,000 square feet of commercial and retail space on about 60 acres, according to the request for the corps permit.

All or most of the land is owned by AKDB LLC, whose manager in Kentucky secretary of state corporate records is listed as John Schnatter, founder of the Papa John’s pizza chain. The Schnatter-led group at one time considered trying to develop a golf course on the property.

Horizon officials, including Thomas Rumtz, the project manager, and Andrew Pelmoter, who is listed as the leasing contact on a website promoting the development, didn’t return phone calls.
Scientific Studies Co. of Louisville, an agent for Horizon, is pursuing needed permits with the corps and state regulatory agencies, said Wayne Cassady, the principal in the Louisville environmental consulting firm.

He said he is not an authorized spokesman for Horizon, but acknowledged that Horizon must be “pretty far along (with the plans) to pursue the permits.” Cassady declined to speculate on a construction schedule.

Layna Thrush, the Army Corps of Engineers project manager on the Horizon proposal, said Horizon has asked the federal agency for approval to fill about a quarter-acre of wetlands, as well as to fill a 6.5-acre pond and about 575 linear feet of a stream through the property. It proposes purchasing comparable wetlands nearby as compensation.

“It’s pretty standard. We don’t expect any major problems” with the permit application, she said.

The corps opened a public comment period on the project March 27; it closes April 25. As of Tuesday, no one had filed a comment, Thrush said.

Ryan Libke, director of the Triple S Planning Commission, which handles zoning for Shelby County and the cities of Shelbyville and Simpsonville, said he had an early meeting in February with Horizon’s Rumtz. Libke said about one-third of the property probably will need to be rezoned to develop the outlets mall.

Horizon’s website says it has an oulets center “under development” near Louisville. It says it has established shopping centers in Burlington, Wash.; Oshkosh, Wis.; Fremont, Ind. (north of Fort Wayne); Gettysburg, Pa.; Oklahoma City; and El Paso, Texas. It lists other centers under development in or near Atlanta and Laredo, Texas.

The Northern Indiana mall includes such stores as Aeropostale, Bass Co., Gap Outlet, Golf 4 Less, Levi’s, Jockey, OshKosh B’Gosh, Polo Ralph Lauren Factory Store, Reebok, Tommy Hilfiger and Van Heusen.