THE PADDOCKS OF FRANKFORT

chase@buildwithbolt.com (Chase Fairchild) — Fri, 17 Jul 2026 22:15:18 GMT

Location: I-64 & US Highway 127 / Lawrenceburg Road (Exit 53) — Frankfort, KY Total Site: 100 acres Anchor: Target Type: Regional power center — retail, outlots, and land Trade Area: Frankfort's primary retail corridor, midway between Louisville and Lexington

THE OPPORTUNITY

Frankfort is the capital of the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the seat of Franklin County. A stable, growing market anchored by state government, major employers like Buffalo Trace Distillery and Montaplast of North America, and a steady flow of interstate traffic. Yet the city's retail had long been concentrated on one side of the I-64/US-127 interchange.

On the opposite side sat 100 acres of prime, high-visibility ground at Exit 53, a site fronting more than 50,000 vehicles a day on I-64, positioned squarely between Kentucky's two largest cities. The opportunity was clear: extend Frankfort's primary retail trade area across the interchange and give national retailers a modern, purpose-built home in a market they had been waiting to enter.

The challenge was equally clear. A site of this scale needed a coordinated development plan, new road and access infrastructure, and a credible anchor to unlock the rest.

THE APPROACH

Equity Management Group structured The Paddocks of Frankfort as a master-planned regional power center: one cohesive vision that could accommodate a big-box anchor, junior anchors, inline shops, and a full complement of pad sites.

We led with infrastructure. Rather than leave access to chance, the plan added the connective tissue a development of this size demands: a new fully signalized intersection, revised and new interstate exit ramps, a new interior road network (Vandalay Drive), and a road extension providing access to KY-676. That investment in access is what makes every parcel on the site genuinely developable.

We led with an anchor. Landing Target as the anchor tenant gave the entire center immediate gravity, and gave every subsequent retailer, restaurant, and pad user confidence that the crowds would follow.

We built in flexibility. The 100-acre plan was divided so users of every size could find a fit:

60 acres under active development , including the anchor core and outlots
40 acres offered for sale for larger users and future phases
A proposed 150,000 SF retail building
Inline shop space from 2,000–10,000 SF
A range of outlots from under one acre to nearly nine acres , available for ground lease, build-to-suit, or purchase , with parcels that can be combined or reconfigured to fit the tenant

THE RESULTS

The Paddocks of Frankfort has transformed a single interchange into the anchor of Frankfort's next retail chapter. The center brought together a lineup of national names committed to the market:

Target (anchor)
BJ's Wholesale Club (pending)
Wawa
Texas Roadhouse
Long John Silver's

With national retailers signed and under development, infrastructure delivered, and outlots and land still available, the project demonstrates the full range of what EMG development delivers: the vision to see a market's next move, the execution to build the access that makes it real, and the tenant relationships to fill it.

equity-management

THE PADDOCKS OF FRANKFORT

THE OPPORTUNITY

THE APPROACH

THE RESULTS