Restaurants, shopping planned for retail hub along River Road. Here's what to know

A 60,000-plus square-foot retail hub is planned for Zorn Avenue just off River Road.

The development is set to include retail, office, and restaurant space spread over multiple buildings, according to plans filed with Louisville Metro's Planning and Design Services.

Construction has yet to get underway at the site, 1041 Zorn Ave., though commercial foundation and new construction permits were recently filed with the city.

A rendering of the mixed-use development planned for Zorn Avenue and River Road shows multiple restaurants and shops as well as office space.
A rendering of the mixed-use development planned for Zorn Avenue and River Road shows multiple restaurants and shops as well as office space.

As detailed in planning documents, the project includes a 2-story office and retail building of 25,000 square-foot; a 2-story building for restaurants of about 8,500 square feet; another 2-story restaurant space of about 10,500 square feet; and a 2-story restaurant, retail and office building of nearly 16,000 square feet.

Louisville-based Quadrant Hospitality LLC has owned the 4.4-acre site since 2008 when it purchased it for nearly $2.94 million.

It submitted redevelopment plans for the site first in 2022 and then again in 2023, which have been approved.

Exactly which future tenants may occupy the retail center was not detailed in the paperwork filed with the city. Raj Krishnani, a partner with Quadrant Group, did not have further details to share.

A Horizon Commercial Realty listing notes the mixed-use development is coming this spring and highlights its proximity to Interstate 71 and the Louisville Water Tower, 3005 River Road.

The new retail center, on the block bounded by River Road and I-71 and Zorn Avenue and Mockingbird Valley Road, replaces an already demolished El Nopal restaurant and a Ramada hotel.

Immediately behind the planned development is a Candlewood Suites. Near the development site are Shell and Valero gas stations and Haymarket by Ashbourne Farms, which opened in June 2023.

Growth & development reporter Matthew Glowicki can be reached at mglowicki@courier-journal.com, 502-582-4000 or on Twitter @mattglo.

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: New mixed-use development planned for River Road in Louisville