A rendering of a proposed project at 4156 Shelbyville Road that features apartments, retail and restaurant space. (Photo: Courtesy Investment Property Advisors, LLC)

Plans for a $40 million retail and apartment project on Shelbyville Road are on hold, pending an effort by the developer to appease some neighbors' concerns.

Investment Property Advisors recently asked the St. Matthews City Council to delay acting on its pending development plan until it can get more input from residents.

A community meeting for discussion of revisions has been scheduled for 6 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 5, at the St. Matthews Community Center on Ten Pin Lane.

The developer plans the project at 4156 Shelbyville Road, land it currently has under contract — a site long occupied by the Tafel Motors luxury auto dealership.

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Tafel plans to relocate to a suburban site near Old Henry Road and the Gene Snyder Freeway. The Tafel buildings would be demolished. The adjacent Mini of Louisville dealership at Hubbards Lane would remain.

The plan for developing the Tafel site features an eight-story building, with 276 apartments on the upper seven floors and about 15,000 square feet of retail and restaurant space on the ground level.

The site already carries the correct zoning for the IPA development. The plan was recently recommended for approval by the Metro Planning Commission, after which the plan was forwarded to the St. Matthews council for final review.

Background: Large apartment complex coming to old Tafel Motors site in St. Matthews

Related: Tafel Motors details plan to move Mercedes-Benz dealership to suburban site

But Jonathan Baker, the attorney for the developer, said in an interview Friday that some significant concerns were raised by residents before the St. Matthews council. They focused on traffic congestion and access to Church Way.

Baker said the developer asked the council to hold off on considering the plan until after the neighborhood meeting.

"We want to take a step back. We want to see if there is some way to accommodate" some of the residents' concerns, he said.

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Investment Property Advisors was founded in 2004 and the company specializes in developing student housing.

The proposed St. Matthews project calls for the apartment amenities to include a pool, an exercise room, and 18,000 square feet of green roof space.

The apartments will range from one- to three-bedroom units and have "high-end finishes" with washers and dryers, the initial plan filing with metro regulators said. The units will rent for around $1,100 a month.

Reporter Sheldon S. Shafer can be reached at 502-582-7089, or via email at sshafer@courier-journal.com.

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