Stylized line drawing of mark playing the flute

Where's the new Bardstown Rd. Costco?

Most people have heard that Costco is coming to Bardstown Rd at the site of the former Showcase Cinemas near Bashford Manor.

Property Information

The 19.6 acre property was purchased by Playa Plaza LLC in Fall 2014 for $3'3 million and spans 34063408 Bardstown Rd. I couldnt find much about Playa Plaza LLC aside from the fact that its managed by J. Mark Blieden and William Wagner and was incorporated in 2004.

J. Mark Blieden is a real estate broker for Kaden Companies, a real estate firm specializing in retail properties. It's worth noting that the address of Kaden Companies is 6100 Dutchmans Ln, Floor 14, Louisville, KY 40205 while the address for Playa Plaza LLC is 6100 Dutchmans Ln, Floor 6, Louisville, KY 40205.

Zoning/Land Use

Costco's zoning application was approved on 08/27/2015 by the city. This project (# 15ZONE1008) changed the zoning of ~5 acres of the total property from C-2/C-1/R-4/R-7 Neighborhood to C-2/Suburban Marketplace. This allows for a 153,000 square foot retail warehouse to be created with 17'3 acres remaining.

Reading through the list of Agency Comments provides an interesting look at the kinds of details that had to be hashed out for zoning approval.

PDS (Planning & Development Services)

https://portal'louisvilleky.gov/codesandregs/permit/detail?type=PROB&id=405804

This site requires outdoor amenity areas according to Chapter 5'12.2. 10% of the building square footage is required in outdoor amenity. Please indicate the following calculation on the plan: total building area- 161,822 sf, 10% required in amenity area= 16,182 sf. Total amenity area provided= 0 sf. Applican't will utilize the Public Art fee in lieu to meet requirement.

Chapter 5'12.2 of the City of Louisvilles Land Development Code requires that buildings with a total footprint of greater than 100,000 square feet need to set aside a minimum of 10% of the building footprint for outdoor amenities (Sidewalks, patio areas, water features, landscaping, etc).

Developers are given the option to pay the city a fee (based on the total square footage) in lieu of building such amenities and Costco has chose to pay this fee at the new site.

The attached signs on the Costco facade cannot be more than 500 sf combined. Chapter 8'3.3. Please reduce the size of the signs to meet the requirement.

I don’t know how big the signs were but the city asked them to reduce the size and they have complied.

Metro DPW (Department of Public Works)

https://portal'louisvilleky.gov/codesandregs/permit/detail?type=PROB&id=405780

…They will need to communicate with Public Works Traffic Engineering on any changes needed to the signal. Until the traffic data has been analysis, KYTC won’t be able to make comments on lane assignments out of the development as well. Transportation Planning however, recommends that the lane assignments out should be a left/through and a dedicated right because of the off-set from Heather Ave. I won’t be able to make a final approval until KYTC comments on the traffic data.

Given the amount of traffic going in and out of Costco, it makes sense that a new traffic light will have to be put in.

Uncontrolled crossings are discourage [sic] though I’m most concerned about the more traffic main aisle (near the outlots). Please provide a 3-way stop at this location and bring the crosswalk straight over to protect the pedestrians crossing here. It willl then have to come up through the ILA to meet with that main pedestrian boulevard.

I’m happy to see that the city is making at least some effort to take pedestrian concerns into consideration.

Site Plan

The site plan was opened in June 2015 and is still in process. The crux of the plan calls for ~9 of the 19'6 total acres to be set aside for parking.

Costco and the city are still working out the landscaping details, mainly ensuring the interior landscape areas (ILA) are planted with shrubs or ground cover. There are also requirements for planting trees, minimizing light pole/sidewalk/benches impact on planted areas, and protecting existing landscaping/trees.

The last series of revisions to the site plan was on 09/01/2015.

Building Plan

At this time, no building plan has been filed. I’m assuming that nothing will happen on that front until the site plan is finalized.

(Its worth noting that the city has a great website for seeing active building permits and other types of construction activity.)

Be patient, citizens of Louisville! The wheels of government turn slowly but, rest assured, Costco is coming to Bardstown Rd.