- The project would replace the vacant Frisch’s Big Boy site at Burlington Pike and Turfway Road with a 6,445-square-foot convenience store and fueling station.
- Committee members found the proposal consistent with the county’s comprehensive plan and supported its recommendation for approval.
- Traffic access changes and architectural revisions were made following public feedback, with the project headed to the full planning commission next.
Plans for Northern Kentucky’s first QuikTrip have advanced through a key committee of the Boone County Planning Commission.
On Wednesday, the planning commission’s Zone Change Committee recommended approval of QuikTrip’s proposal to redevelop the vacant Frisch’s Big Boy site at 6808 Burlington Pike, located at the intersection of Burlington Pike and Turfway Road. The site, which is zoned for Commercial Services, is located near a Remke Supermarket and yet-to-be constructed 7 Brew.
If approved, QuikTrip plans to demolish the vacant Frisch’s site to make way for a 6,445-square-foot convenience store, a fuel canopy with seven dispensing islands and 14 fueling stations, an air pump station, a dumpster enclosure and new landscaping. Currently, the only other QuikTrip in Kentucky is in Elizabethtown.
QuikTrip first presented the proposal to the planning commission and the public at a public hearing on Jan. 8. Since then, Boone County Planner Lauren Elliott told the committee that QuikTrip had made minor revisions to its initial proposal, including revised canopy and building elevations.
“Based on comments from the staff report, as well as some points of discussion from the public hearing, the applicant was asked to provide building material swatches, revised canopy elevation, and then they were asked to look at lighting comparisons for 7 Brew and other surrounding properties,” she said. “Based on that, they have provided a slightly revised site plan.”
Committee member Rick Lunnemann said he believed QuikTrip’s proposal fell within the bounds of Boone County’s Comprehensive Plan and therefore supported its recommendation for approval.
“I think before we move on to the discussion of the project, we got to look at whether the project complies with the comprehensive plan, and my thought is that our comp plan suggests that the site should be developed with commercial uses, and certainly this is a commercial use, so I believe it will comply with the comprehensive plan,” he said.
Regarding traffic–a sticking point during the public hearing–QuikTrip real estate project manager Gwen Keen said the company added a raised right-in/right-out median on Burlington Pike to the plan and was open to meeting any additional requirements set by the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet.
“We are open to whatever KYTC wants,” she said. “If it’s just basically there to say it’s going to be a right-in/right-out, if they would rather us put a meeting in place else, we’re open to whatever adjustment is necessary after we get their full findings and whatnot, but we just want to make sure we put something there to just acknowledge that we know that it’s going to be a right-in/right-out.”
Traffic Specialist Clay Smith from Keck & Wood consulting firm reiterated that a large portion of the traffic at the site would result from “pass-by” trips—drivers who are already traveling on nearby roads.
The committee then examined the building’s architectural features. King showed samples of thin stone panels, brick, rooftop screening mesh, and various color palettes. She mentioned that darker accent bricks and bronze-toned bricks would be used to add visual interest to the facade.
Additionally, the building’s canopy columns would be wrapped in brick, and the lighting would be designed to match the nearby developments.
The proposal will be presented to the full planning commission at a later date. If approved by the legislative body, it will then be reviewed by the Boone County Fiscal Court, which has the final say on all zoning changes in unincorporated Boone County.