A Cincinnati-based company that is developing the Publix supermarket in Owensboro is now involved with a large commercial/residential project along Bowling Green’s Nashville Road.

STNL Development and property owner David Tarter of Suits Me 3 LLC won approval Jan. 16 for a Future Land Use Map amendment that is expected to eventually transform a 30-acre parcel at the intersection of Nashville Road and Dillard Road into an apartment complex and retail development.

The FLUM amendment passed by the City-County Planning Commission of Warren County switches the designation of the property at 6698 Nashville Road from mixed use/residential and moderate-density residential to commercial and high-density residential.

Next for the property will be an application for a zone change to highway business and multi-family residential. That rezoning would allow STNL Development to move forward with a preliminary plan to build a 216-unit apartment complex and nearly 15 acres of commercial development that includes a 50,325-square-foot anchor store.

That anchor store is the “jewel of the development”, according to Chris Davenport, the attorney representing the developer at the planning commission meeting.

“I believe this will be a significant development for this part of the county,” Davenport said. “To me, the benefit is having this development in this (Nashville Road) corridor.

“I do think there’s a public benefit. The multi-family part is high-end, with a pool and recreation areas. But the jewel of the development is the commercial. The anchor tenant is a Fortune 500 company that provides items that are used daily.”

Despite that positive outlook, the FLUM amendment faced opposition. Four residents voiced concerns about the proposed development in an area where a new county elementary school and a single-family residential development are already in the works.

“I’m worried about the impact of a development such as this on the Dillard Road corridor,” said Deborah Jenkins, who lives on Dillard Road. “It will have an impact on a rural area where a school is going.”

Other speakers expressed reservations about putting such a development along the narrow Dillard Road, but STNL Development’s application indicates that numerous improvements will be made to Dillard Road and its intersection with Nashville Road.

Despite the opposition, the FLUM amendment passed by a vote of 8-2, with commissioners Rick Starks and Gayla Cissell casting the dissenting votes.

That vote paves the way for a rezoning that could lead to Bowling Green joining a growing list of Kentucky cities that are already part of the northward expansion of Florida-based Publix.

The Owensboro store now being built — also 50,325 square feet — is the 11th announced Publix in Kentucky, following announcements in Louisville, Lexington, Elizabethtown, Walton, and the northern Kentucky region.

Each store offers grocery, deli, bakery, produce, floral, meat, and seafood items. Some stores have pharmacy departments or liquor stores. The popular submarine sandwiches sold at Publix delis are often referred to as “Pub subs.”

A Fortune 500 company, employee-owned Publix operates 1,391 store locations across eight states in the Southeast.