A developer wants to turn two historic, formerly city-owned properties on Bardstown Road into a 21-unit "apartment-hotel" and bar that could open as soon as fall 2020.

Ben Botkins of Park Mile Partners filed a permit application last week for a project he calls "Ballet Hotel" at the 1300-1306 Bardstown Road properties, which were once a police station, Louisville Ballet building and old BellSouth switching station.

Botkins told the Courier Journal on Friday morning that the project is special to him because he's been dreaming of preserving and restoring the buildings for years.

"I would sit on the patio at Heine Brothers on Longest Ave and I would just stare at them," Botkins said. "I can remember this going back at least five years. We live in the neighborhood, our kids go to school there, I own Park Side Bikes. I'm always right there, and I've been in love with these buildings for a long time."

He plans to renovate the existing buildings, replace the windows and construct front and side patios, according to a handwritten application sent to the city. Deed records show the previous owner transferred the properties to Park Mile Partners LLC last month for $1.12 million.

The apartment-hotel would target people who have ties to Louisville and want to stay anywhere from one night to several months, Botkins said. And he plans to have a bar or restaurant space facing Bardstown to help bring life to the Tyler Park neighborhood.

"You could just see — if there were good lighting, restored windows, the patio built out — you could picture it going from dreary and downtrodden to vital and thriving," Botkins said.

As for the name, "Ballet Hotel" is a working title. They're still massaging names, he said.

A review done by the city said, under the plan, the historic structures were being preserved and "adaptively reused," and noted that the proposed patio space would activate this corner of Bardstown Road.

The approval from this week specifies the new developments must provide significant screening to residential structures and ensure outdoor lighting is sensitive to nearby areas. And if the design changes, the city must again be contacted for review and approval.

Because of the "minor exterior changes," the property needs only staff-level approval, a Louisville Forward spokeswoman said.

"The applicant can move forward with the development as long as he conforms to (the) condition related to lighting (included) in the staff report," spokeswoman Caitlin Bowling wrote, adding that any waiver applications would need further approval but that none have been submitted.

From June 2018:Councilman says Sterling owes taxpayers for dumped project

It's the latest in an ongoing saga around the space, which was once proposed to be a small brewing operation and event space from Louisville Sterling, which got the properties from the city at a discount.

But that deal fell through last year, and investors sold the properties at more than double the price they paid to the city — causing concern among some officials.

Councilman Brandon Coan, D-8th District, who represents the Highlands, said at the time that council leaders should do whatever possible, even launch an investigation, to force developers to pay back more than $500,000 in profits they earned from selling the properties.

"I intend to do everything within my power to get the city and taxpayers restitution for what I see as a clear case of unjust enrichment," Coan said.

The group that bought the buildings from Louisville Sterling had planned to construct a mini-storage facility. It failed to get those plans approved, after dozens of community members voiced opposition to the project, according to WFPL.

Background:Bardstown Road historic site bought by brewer

On Friday, Coan said the planned apartment-hotel project with a bar and outdoor space was the kind of economic development project the city had in mind when it sold the properties in the first place several years ago, and that he's excited for it to happen.

"The property is finally in the hands of people who paid fair market value for it and are going to develop the kind of project the city deserves," Coan said. "I wish them the best of luck."

Botkins said Friday that he'd visited the Tyler Park neighborhood association last month about the plans and the meeting went positively.

He lives in the neighborhood, he added, and from the attic of the home on Everett Avenue he and his wife are currently restoring, you can see the antenna on top of the Bardstown Road buildings.

"We feel, hands down, there's nothing better we can do for the neighborhood than a 21-room apartment-hotel, so people can come visit, go to Carmichael's, Heine Brothers, Discoveries and Kizito Cookies. They can ride bikes, go to Cherokee Park," Botkins said.

"It's a combination of restoring the buildings, which are important, making a vital corner again on Bardstown and sharing Louisville and the neighborhood with out-of-town guests," he added.

It may be some time before changes are made to the exterior, he said, but he hopes for a fall 2020 completion date. Other aspects of the project he shared include a ramp and elevator to make the units ADA-friendly and rooftop solar panels.

The buildings were previously used as offices for Louisville Metro's Emergency Management Administration.

The city of Louisville purchased 1300 Bardstown Road from the Louisville Ballet in 1995 for $235,000. The building was originally built as a telephone exchange for BellSouth.

The 1306 Bardstown Road site was built as a police station by the city and remained under city ownership until the 2016 transaction. The MetroSafe communications offices previously housed at the location were moved to MetroSafe's Newburg Road facility in late 2012.

Louisville Metro Council declared the two properties surplus in November 2015.

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Botkins stressed that this is "first and foremost, a preservation and restoration" project.

"This is more than just about 'let's build a hotel.' That's not what this is. This is about being in love with these buildings, finding the best use, preserving them and hopefully spurring some new development and investment into Bardstown Road," he said.

Darcy Costello: 502-582-4834; dcostello@courier-journal.com; Twitter: @dctello. Support strong local journalism by subscribing today: courier-journal.com/darcyc.