Recent growth of logistics industry activity in the Bullitt County area has been significant, and manufacturing is picking up, according to Stephen Wolfe, executive director of the Bullitt County Economic Development Authority. Wolfe says developers in the Bullitt County area, which is located south of Louisville, are attempting to attract distribution centers and light manufacturing companies.

Major leases in the area include Illuminations.com' 400,000-square-foot lease in the Butler Realty Building at 150 Omicron Ct. and the 611,000-square-foot lease by Linens ¹n Things at Robert Pattillo Properties on Omega Parkway. The market in Bullitt County has been good with the addition of two new tenants, according to Wolfe, who says Wyeth-Ayerst Pharmaceuticals is constructing more than 90,000 square feet in the area and Woodgrain Millsource has announced plans to construct 71,000 square feet.

The majority of industrial development to date has taken place in Cedar Grove Business Park and in Shepherdsville, Wolfe says. In Cedar Grove Business Park, for example, the Catellus Southgate Distribution Center, a 382,800-square-foot speculative building, was recently built, and Paul Hemmer Cos. plans to build a 136,000-square-foot building. The cost of land and building on the two projects is expected to exceed $25 million. Mount Washington Business Centre, a 154-acre park zoned for light industrial, represents a $2.2 million investment in land acquisition and infrastructure development in the city of Mount Washington. Vittitow Basement Walls, Inc. recently broke ground on an 8-acre tract and plans a $1 million expansion at the new park. Louisville Logistics in Hillview is a 302,500-square-foot development that cost $10 million, and Prologis Development, a soon to be constructed speculative building off Interstate 65, will be 430,000 square feet.

With rental rates ranging from $3.25 to $3.65 per square foot, 47 percent of the total 2.11 million square feet industrial space in Bullitt County is leased.

Stephen Wolfe is executive director of the Bullitt County Economic Development Authority.


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