LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Bullitt County is preparing to move its animal control and shelter to a new location amid plans for a bourbon tourism campus.
In February, Judge-Executive Jerry Summers announced plans to build a new resort aimed at boosting bourbon tourism on a hillside near I-65 and Clermont Road.
The plans overlap with the current site of the Bullitt County Animal Control and Shelter, and that means moving it to a new permanent home.
The county purchased 5.4 acres of land in the 3900 block of Preston Highway in Shepherdsville about two weeks ago. (WDRB Image) May 11, 2023
The county purchased 5.4 acres of land in the 3900 block of Preston Highway in Shepherdsville about two weeks ago. Summers said that will become the site of the new shelter once they find an architect.
Tony Wilson is the Bullitt County Animal Control and Shelter Director and has worked with the facility for 17 years. He said saying goodbye is "bittersweet" but added he and others are excited to move into an updated facility.
"When you're dealing with older structures you're going to have a lot of repairs you have to deal with all the time and stuff like that. We're really looking forward to being in a new facility and being out there in the open for the public eye to see," Wilson.
Wilson said people often have trouble finding the current facility off Clermont Road, since the entrance is partially hidden behind an EMS building.
CLEANUP HAS BEGUN | Work has already started to move the Bullitt County Animal Control and Shelter to its new home. The old site must be moved to make space for the new bourbon tourism center. We’ll tell you where the new building will be and when it’s moving, today on @WDRBNews. pic.twitter.com/VjcMSgVBsP
— Grace Hayba (@GraceHayba) May 11, 2023
It takes about three minutes to drive to the new location from the animal shelter's current site off Clermont Road near I-65.
Summers said the plan is to utilize the large plot of land to build a bigger building and have more outdoor and indoor spaces for animal visitations.
"We're going to make this friendly for where people come in to adopt animals," said Summers. "We need all this because we're a growing community of 85,000 people. We're probably going to be about 100,000 in 2030 for the next census."
Summers stated he believed the community needed the project to "take care of things that are really special to them."
Plans for new shelter location include more outdoor and indoor visitation spaces. (WDRB Image) May 11, 2023
The county purchased the lot for $200,000 and said in total the project is expected to cost around $1 million.
"We're going to actually have separate rooms. So you'll have a medical room, you'll have your quarantine room, and you'll have your general population. That's going to help with a lot of disease control because that's where you run into a lot of issues with animals," said Wilson.
Staff said they hope to be able to move into the new building within the next 18 months. Summers said he is optimistic it will be even sooner.
Plans for new Bullitt County Animal Control and Shelter facility include increased kennel capacity. (WDRB Image) May 11, 2023
The Grand Reserve development planned for the I-65 hillside would include a welcome center, a hotel and conference center, luxury townhomes and apartments, a restaurant and new gas station.
The bourbon tourism campus will be built on 160 acres of hillside owned by Bullitt County and rented to the developer.
Construction for the bourbon tourism center is scheduled to start in two years and be completed by the end of 2026.
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