THE ORIGINS OF BLUEGRASS COMMERCE PARK

HOW ONE MAN’S DREAM BECAME A REALITY

The Bluegrass Commerce Park, which happens to be the largest industrial park in the state of Kentucky, was the first development of its kind in the United States – a 600-acre industrial center set amidst park-like surroundings. It now comprises of over 1,800 acres and houses with 850 businesses homing 38,000 employees. The park’s seven units include: Bluegrass Commerce Park, Commonwealth Park, Watterson Trail Industrial Park, Plainview

Office Park, Jeffersontown Industrial Park, Holloway Industrial Park, and Blankenbaker Crossings.

The park has come a long way from its beginnings more than 60 years ago, when it was merely a dream in the mind of real estate broker Fred Weber. In the late 1950s, Weber was intimately acquainted with the vast amount of farmland in the area, and he envisioned an industrial development taking the place of sprawling corn and wheat fields lying just south of Interstate 64. He spent seven years getting farmers in the area to agree to sell their land, while he worked on finding a buyer who was willing to pay the asking price. Each year, Weber had to renew the farmer’s contracts as he sought someone to purchase the 627 acres he had amassed and intended to keep intact.

At first, Southern Railway showed an interest in purchasing the land to resell, but when the potential users backed down, Weber had to try to find another buyer. The Louisville Area Chamber of Commerce was also interested in having the land developed industrially, and they presented the idea to developer L. LeRoy Highbaugh Jr., who bought the 627 acres in 1964 for an average price of $2,600 per acre. The project had the backing of Mayor Franklin J. Chambers, so the land was annexed and zoned for the development that would be called Bluegrass Research and Industrial Park.

To go along with the park, Highbaugh also intended to develop Bluegrass Estates with 450 lots, and Bluegrass Meadows with 350 lots adjoining the park. From its very inception, the industrial park was a fullyplanned endeavor – everyone involved wanted everything related to it to be done right, and that included making sure local residents were fine with the creation of an industrial park. The Jaycees conducted a survey of 1 in every 3 homes in the area, and it showed that the major thing residents wanted to do was encourage industry. Developers and city leaders were under no illusions as to how long it might take to fill the park with businesses.

“It will take 10 years to complete the sales and location operation,” Edie says. The park would exceed everyone’s hopes, however, as within eight years, the park was nearing 100% development.

Before that could occur, however, basic needs had to be met. These included such things as extending sewer facilities to the area and planning entrances to the park that would ease traffic, yet not interfere with residential areas. Contracts were signed almost immediately to begin work on water and sewage hook-ups, but egress to the industrial park involved a little more time and cooperation with local residents. Two entrances were created straightaway – one at Hurstbourne Lane, and the other on the part of Watterson Trail. Developers desperately wished for a road cutting through Merioneth Drive straight back to the park, but residents were adamant that they simply did not

1965 Artist Conception want the increased traffic – especially delivery trucks – going through their neighborhood or causing traffic problems.

The first major company to announce plans to build in the Bluegrass Research and Industrial Park was Celanese Coating Corporation; a large industrial laboratory, followed by Neptune Meter Company, which made water meters and measures. The H.C. Ackerman and Son Company was the first business to move into its facility in the park, along with Steel Builders Inc., Derby Cone Company, Owen Conrad, Jones Plastic and Engineering Corporation, Reco Sales and Strohmeier Company, Inc.

The park officially held its grand opening Thursday, July 13, 1967 at Bluegrass Parkway and Plantside Drive. Lovely invitations were sent out, bearing the Bluegrass Research and Industrial Park’s three-pronged logo designed to suggest a tuft of bluegrass. An 80-foot-high steel version of that logo was to grace the entrance to the park, with the intention of it becoming a landmark in the Louisville area.

The dream Fred Weber had 60 years ago