SHELBYVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Plans are moving forward to build an outlet mall in Shelby County, Ky. -- and if all goes well, it won't be long before the project becomes a reality.
The rolling hills of Shelby County are filled with horse farms. Horses even grazing on a wet winters day.
But in some places the landscape is changing.
In Simpsonville, just south of I-64 on 40 acres of now-vacant land, preparations are underway to build an outlet mall.
The plans are to drain a lake on the property for what will become an 87-store retail outlet mall at exit 28.
Stores like Tommy Hillfiger, Nike and Gap.
While there has been some opposition, local leaders say it's a huge investment that will result in a stronger local economy -- and it be a catalyst for further economic development.
David Eaton, city administrator, said the outlet mall could bring restaurants and hotels to Shelbyville as well as Simpsonville.
But not everyone is quite as optimistic about the planned development. Rudy Volz owns a landscaping company nearby and wonders about some of the possible negative aspects of a new outlet mall.
"You ask questions, and you don't get answers," he said. "Basically it's going to be a traffic issue...I am not sure how its going to flow. The access to the gas station...we are not sure how that is going to flow."
The roads around the project will be reconfigured and widened to accommodate the increased traffic.
The builder and owner of the outlet mall, Horizon Properties, based in Michigan, expects final zoning approval to come later this month. It hopes to begin construction in April and have the outlet mall opened by August 2014.
Copyright 2013 WDRB News.
