Okolona's Biggest Housing Proposal Dropped Its Townhomes. What That Leaves Buyers and Landlords

At the end of June 2026, the plan for land around the Meijer property at 9500 Preston Highway called for 35 townhomes on 8.9 acres, next to a 128-unit apartment community and 60 contractor shops. The formal application accepted September 21 has 152 apartments, 30 contractor shops, and no townhomes.

This is the biggest housing proposal in Okolona's current planning pipeline. Over the summer, the one part of it that wasn't apartments disappeared. If you're a buyer hoping a cheaper new-build option shows up near the Gene Snyder, or a landlord sizing up future competition, that change tells you more than any median price does.

The same site, two filings

The early version was a pre-application, case 26-ZONEPA-0082, covering about 31.8 acres and 163 dwelling units. Both versions name 9500 Preston Highway and 4240 South Park Road as the property. The formal case, 26-ZONE-0123, asks to rezone fewer acres but has more apartments.

The formal filing also asks to change the commercial portion's form district from Neighborhood to Suburban Marketplace Corridor. The application lists Meijer Stores Limited Partnership as the property owner, and city reviewers note that the development plan would subdivide the existing Meijer lot. The application puts proposed new building space at 219,966 square feet.

Between the two filings, the acreage to be rezoned fell from 31.8 to 19.1, the townhome tract and half the contractor shops dropped out, and the apartment count went up by 24. Nothing in the public filings explains the change.

Why an apartment developer ends up with an apartment plan

The applicant is Mitchell Bohn of CamiLeo, LLC, and the contact email on the application is at mulloycompanies.com. Mulloy Bohn Development Company describes itself as a Kentucky and Southern Indiana developer that focuses on multifamily, light industrial and selective mixed-use projects. Bohn and Tim Mulloy are among its principals.

Read the revised plan with that in mind. Apartments are multifamily, and contractor shops are a form of light industrial space. The filing that survived matches the firm's stated specialties. Townhomes on their own platted tract are a different kind of product with a different buyer at the end of it.

The firm's portfolio shows how a project like this can play out. Landon's Place was a 152-unit apartment development in Shelbyville. It broke ground in 2023 and was sold in December 2024. That's the same unit count now proposed at 9500 Preston Highway. Neither the developer nor the city has given a reason for dropping the townhomes. Still, an apartment specialist filing an apartment plan is the simplest explanation the record supports.

The rest of Okolona's pipeline is small or specialized

The other residential cases in and around the Okolona ZIPs this year are mostly modest in size or aimed at a specific type of housing:

• Wesley Manor, 5012 E. Manslick Road. Wesley Manor Retirement Community asked to rezone from R-4 to R-5A for a new independent-living building with about 111 units, under case 26-ZONE-0067. A September 9 city report still listed it among revised submittals.
• Applegate Lane Townhomes, 6325 Applegate Lane. MPP Ventures proposed four attached townhomes, each on its own lot, plus a shared parking and open-space lot. Metro Council approved the rezoning on March 12, 2026.
• 8305 Jenny Lind Drive. An accessory dwelling unit application, 26-ADU-0043, in the R-4 district.
• 5930 S. Watterson Trail. A general district development plan for commercial and multifamily uses, case 26-ZONE-0132. No unit count is listed.

City planning staff wrote in the Applegate Lane staff report that putting each townhome on its own lot "allows for additional ownership types." That project adds four homes. The proposal that briefly had 35 townhomes now has none. In the public cases listed here, the attached, lower-cost ownership options that land between an apartment lease and a detached house are coming in very small numbers.

Where new for-sale homes in 40229 actually start

For-sale new construction does exist in the 40229 ZIP. It comes from production builders selling detached single-family homes. Arbor Homes advertises its Cedar Creek community on Warbler Branch Way with homes from the $290,000s. D.R. Horton advertises Cedar Brook on Cedar Pointe Drive starting at $323,900. Those are the builders' advertised "from" prices. Lot premiums, options and upgrades usually push the final contract price higher.

Compare those floors with the wider market. In August 2026, the median sale price across Greater Louisville was $300,000, up 1.2% from $296,501 a year earlier, according to the Louisville REALTORS August 2026 market report. That figure covers the whole metro and includes single-family homes, townhomes and condos. It isn't an Okolona number.

So the cheapest advertised new detached homes in 40229 start right around the metro-wide median. A buyer whose budget sits well below that line won't find a new-construction option in this ZIP. Townhomes were the product that might have filled that gap, and the biggest local proposal no longer includes them.

The metro numbers favor resale buyers right now

The same August 2026 report shows why resale is where a buyer has room to work. Across Greater Louisville in August 2026:

• Homes for sale reached 4,490, up 33% from 3,377 a year earlier.
• Months of inventory rose to 3.5, from 2.7.
• Cumulative days on market averaged 46, compared with 38 in August 2025.
• Closed sales fell 7.3% to 1,372, while new listings rose 3.5% to 2,174.

More listings, fewer closings and longer market times mean sellers are competing a little harder for each buyer. Those figures describe the metro, not individual Okolona streets. When homes take longer to sell, a buyer has more time to inspect, compare and negotiate. A builder's base price, on the other hand, is set by the builder. For a budget-minded buyer in Okolona, the leverage this fall is on existing homes.

For landlords, 152 units is a number to track

If you own rental property near Preston Highway and the Gene Snyder, the revised plan cuts both ways. Under the formal filing, 152 apartment units would add rental supply near the Okolona Meijer if it's approved and built. New apartment buildings compete with single-family rentals for some of the same tenants, and especially on amenities and move-in condition.

The same plan also shows how few for-sale entry-level options are coming. Households priced out of the $290,000-and-up new-build range still need housing. When new for-sale supply skews toward detached homes near the metro median, the rental side of the market gets more of that demand. How those two effects balance on any given street is a question for your own rent roll and comps. They're both worth having in your underwriting before the case reaches a hearing.

What still has to happen at 9500 Preston Highway

The case isn't decided. City reviewers requested revisions on October 7, and the record showed those reviews received on October 15, with no Planning Commission or Metro Council hearing date posted. The October 7 comments include a few site-level items:

The private road "Boerste Way" does not appear to formally provide access to Tract 1. An new and/or amended defined private access easement will be required.

Another reviewer noted that the new construction "appears to have moved away from the possible cultural resources area near the stream." District 24 held neighborhood meetings on the proposal at Bethany United Church of Christ on July 27 and October 12. The District 24 eNewsletter is where upcoming meetings on this case have been announced. The Accela case page shows each new review step as it's posted.

Quick answers

Is the 9500 Preston Highway project approved? No. As of mid-October 2026, case 26-ZONE-0123 was in revisions with no hearing date on the record.

Could townhomes come back into the plan? The current filing lists 152 units, all R-6 multifamily, on 19.1 acres. Any change would show up as a revised filing on the public case record.

Are the Greater Louisville figures specific to Okolona? No. The August 2026 Louisville REALTORS report covers the Greater Louisville market. Okolona's ZIP codes can run ahead of or behind it.

Comparing a resale home in 40219 with a new build in 40229, or trying to figure out what 152 new apartments could mean for your rentals? ZHomes Real Estate works from our office at 7520 Preston Hwy, a few miles up the road from this site. We can pull current comps for the streets you're considering, in English or Spanish, so your next offer or lease is based on what's actually selling and renting around you. Start with a home valuation or a conversation with our team.