After five years of planning, Blue Grass Automotive's luxury automobile dealership at 4650 Bowling Blvd. is nearing completion.

The 7.5-acre Blue Grass Motorsport European Campus will have three buildings, five showrooms and will sell Audi, Porsche, Saab, Land Rover and Jaguar.

"It's all European luxury vehicles. You don't see that very often," said Jim Haynes, president of Blue Grass Automotive.

The first building to open in the complex will be the Audi center on April 1, said Haynes. The 25,900-square-foot center will have a showroom, a service ride-up and an air-conditioned service area.

The Porsche/Saab building will open on June 1, said Haynes. The 25,500-square-foot building will feature separate Porsche and Saab showrooms, a service center and separate service ride-ups for customers.

The final building to open will be the 29,300-square-foot Land Rover/Jaguar center on July 1, said Haynes. Land Rover and Jaguar are both owned by Ford Motor Co., and the center, which will have two showrooms and a service area with a combined service ride-up, is based on Ford's idea to have combined dealerships.

"Our Land Rover/Jaguar center will be one of the first going up in the entire country," said Haynes.

Blue Grass currently has a Land Rover dealership at 7913 Shelbyville Road and is selling Porsches, Audis, Saabs and Jaguars from its dealership at 3700 Frankfort Ave., which was formerly Tom Payette Jaguar.

Haynes said that space is limited at the Frankfort Avenue location and that the dealership wanted room for future growth. The new location is also convenient to his customers.

"We like the location because we like St. Matthews," said Haynes.

Initially Blue Grass planned to build a dealership for Porsche, Audi and Saab, but after buying Tom Payette in 2002, and because of Ford's combined dealership idea, the business expanded its plans to include Land Rover and Jaguar in the building project, said Haynes.

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