A luxury car dealership in Covington is permanently relocating to Fort Wright due to imminent construction from the Brent Spence Bridge Corridor Project.
Performance Lexus RiverCenter, located at 633 W. 3rd St., is moving nearly 2.5 miles southward 709 Wright’s Summit Parkway. The new facility is set to open in spring of this year, according to their website.
The dealership will drop RiverCenter from its official title and instead will go by Performance Lexus of Northern Kentucky going forward.
The primary reason for Performance Lexus’ move south is the constriction of the Brent Spence Companion Bridge, one of the main features of the $3.6 billion Brent Spence Bridge Corridor project.
The bridge construction will eliminate Performance Lexus RiverCenter current building. This forced the dealership to seek a new home elsewhere.
The companion bridge is set to be built directly west of the current Brent Spence Bridge. Construction on the project is anticipated to begin later this year.
Performance Lexus of Northern Kentucky’s new facility is being constructed on the 15-acre former Dixie Gardens Drive-In site and will be visible to drivers on Interstate 75. Performance Automotive, listed as Automanage LLC according to Kenton County property records, is the owner of the property.
Overall, the facility is projected to be approximately 52,000 square feet, including amenities such as an outdoor roof deck, a two-story showroom, a service department with 33 service lifts, and additional guest parking.
The idea of building a car dealership at the former site of the Dixie Gardens Drive-In is not new. During a Fort Wright city council meeting in November 2021, Mayor Dave Hatter said there were 15-year-old plans to redevelop the baron drive-in site into a car dealership.
“What we’re talking about is the old Dixie Drive-In site. Performance has owned this property now for 15 years or more,” Hatter said. “Now they’ve got a plan to actually bring in the car dealerships that were proposed back then as part of the overall development plan of the site.”
Performance Automotive Director of Operations Shane Dever first presented the dealership’s relocation plan and proposed site renderings to the Fort Wright city council during that meeting.
