By Patricia A. Scheyer
NKyTribune reporter
Kenton County Fiscal Court appropriated $2 million to support the new redevelopment of the former Drawbridge Hotel and Convention Center property in Ft Mitchell.
At the regular Commission meeting Tuesday evening, the commissioners voted for a resolution to award the money to the project and listened to plans for it.
The funding will be used to pay for required storm sewer upgrades neighboring the redevelopment project that will benefit the broader Fort Mitchell community and beyond.
“There’s a regional storm detention line that runs through the edge of the site right now, it services Lakeside Park and Ft Mitchell,” said Greg Berling of Buttermilk Pike Development Company. “The line is being upgraded as a requirement of the subdivision regulations with SD-1, even though our site doesn’t utilize it for our stormwater. Our stormwater actually comes down through the proposed newly constructed Royal Drive next to the Interstate and ties in there. So this money is a very big help to this project.”
Judge Executive Kris Knochelmann asked him to elaborate about what the project is all about.
“This site is going to be a combination of retail with restaurants and retail, that could be a number of different types of retail and banks, and restaurants.
“There will be a continuing care facility that has been out for awhile that St E’s is partnering with Graybar development. St E’s tells us there are quite a bit of reservations for units, but it is a top of the line. I compare it to a Ritz Carlton-type of continuing care facility, with restaurants, with swimming pool, with theater for those residents.
“Then we also have an office building, medical office building, up against I-75, about 130,000 square feet of office space there. We squeezed a lot onto the site, but it is all needed for Ft Mitchell and the surrounding area. It will be a great addition to the county.”
He said there is a gap between the costs of the construction, the funds from the TIF, and the city funds, and this money helps to close that gap.
The money will come from Kenton County’s $13 million site development fund which Senator Chris McDaniel obtained for Kenton county during the last state of Kentucky budget session while he served as chair of the Kentucky Senate Appropriations and Revenue Committee. The fund is administered by the Northern Kentucky Port Authority.
Earlier this year, the county approved $3 million to purchase the former Sims Furniture Building in downtown Covington. Officials plan to create a regional entrepreneurship center in that building. So this is the second time that the county has dipped into the site development fund, and since it is being used for local development, it is considered a good and appropriate use of the funds.
“I’m thrilled to see another great investment by Judge Knochelmann and the Kenton County Fiscal Court,” Senator McDaniel said. “The purpose of this funding is to help sites clear the last hurdles to be ready for economic development, and this is exactly what they are doing.”
Work is expected to begin soon on the site. The project is being directed by a Bellevue-based company called Brandicorp, Inc.
“This project, much like the purchase of the Sims Furniture Building, stands to have a big impact on all of Kenton County and shows just how big it was for Senator Chris McDaniel to secure these site development dollars,” said Judge Executive Kris Knochelmann. “With this project alone, we’re leveraging $2 million to generate many times that amount in private-sector funding for a site that’s been vacant for more than a decade.”
The vote on taking the money from the site development fund was unanimous, 3 to 0, since Commissioner Jon Draud was not present at this meeting.
“This has been a collaborative effort between Fort Mitchell City Council, the development team, the state and Kenton County,” Ft Mitchell Mayor Jude Hehman weighed in.
“I thank Judge Knochelmann, and Kenton County Fiscal Court for working with me and our City Council to bring vibrancy back to this site and the city. This development is a model for how public and private sectors work together to achieve success. When government and industry collaborate, we turn challenges into opportunities and dreams into tangible realities, creating a stronger, more resilient future for our residents. I am excited for the development team to break ground.”
As long as everything goes as planned, the work is expected to begin by the end of 2023.