Developer hopes to lure big commercial tenants to Jeffersonville with new 1 million-square-foot building

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- A commercial real estate developer aims to lure big business to Jeffersonville with a new 1 million-square-foot building taking shape at the River Ridge Commerce Center.

With what is nothing short of a small army, construction crews were on schedule Tuesday for the new behemoth of a building in the River Ridge Commerce Center.

According to a news release, the industrial project is called Gateway 1000, and it's set on more than 74 acres of land. On Tuesday, it consisted of little more than walls and a roof. There's no tenant yet, but developers said that won't be the case for long.

Construction on 19 acres of land being developed by Platform Real Estate Group at River Ridge Commerce Center — Construction taking place on 19 acres of land being developed by Platform Real Estate Group at River Ridge Commerce Center. Image taken by Joel Schipper / WDRB Media on Feb. 21, 2023.

The project is being developed by VanTrust Real Estate.

"It will have a very large impact," said Jerry Acy, executive director of the River Ridge Development Authority. "Obviously with this size building, it would accommodate just about any type of development that might be interested in it."

The building has 100 truck bays and will be able to fit at least 1,000 employees.

"Looking at the project as a whole, it is hard to grasp, but once you break it down through the phases, it definitely makes it a lot easier," said Ryan Ballman, a construction supervisor.

To put the structure's enormous size into context, six Kroger grocery stores could fit inside, or 50 737 airplanes, or 1,000 school buses.

"We are starting to see a lot more of these 1 million-square-foot buildings," said Ballman. "I would say four or five years ago, it wasn't that common to build one, this large of a building."

Several other massive buildings neighbor the new project, with some of them occupied by more than one tenant.

The River Ridge Development Authority said more than 11,000 employees currently work in the commerce center and several thousands of acres are still for sale.

When it comes to the size of the structures, Acy says the bigger, the better.

"The inquires we get on a daily basis, almost, the buildings are getting larger and higher," he said.

The cost of construction for this new one is $60 million. While the risk of constructing a building of this size without a signed tenant is real, it's not something River Ridge officials said they're worried about.

"It's really heating up a lot so we have a lot of attention in that area," said Acy.

Completion of the 1 million-square-foot building, minus the tenant, is scheduled for July.