- Jeff Wyler Auto will develop land on Dixie Highway in Fort Wright, the city announcement Wednesday
- The move follows last week’s allocation of $1.35 million to the city from the Kenton County Community Redevelopment Fund
- The exact use of the land has not been finalized, but more announcements will be forthcoming next year
The City of Fort Wright and Jeff Wyler Automotive announced Wednesday that the auto group will develop property on Dixie Highway in Fort Wright, following last week’s approval of an injection of $1.35 million from Kenton County’s Community Redevelopment Fund.
Jeff Wyler Automotive has car dealerships throughout Kentucky, Indiana and Ohio, and although an exact use of the land has not yet been finalized, the city’s announcement indicates it will most likely “be associated with the retail luxury automotive industry.”
“We have been working for years to make improvements to the Dixie Highway corridor,” said Fort Wright Mayor Dave Hatter, “so we are very excited about this redevelopment opportunity and the positive changes it will bring which include safety, aesthetics, jobs and revenue generation.”
The land itself was purchased by real estate company DWSB, an LLC with branches in Louisville and Wilder, according to the Kentucky Secretary of State’s office, but the auto company itself will head up the development of the land. The city confirmed with LINK nky that DWSB has purchased two parcels, about 8.5 acres altogether: 1939 Dixie Highway and 1945 Dixie Highway.
Fort Wright is the latest city to utilize the county’s Community Redevelopment Fund, joining Independence, Erlanger and Taylor Mill. Independence was the first to receive funding, with $900,000 approved by the fiscal court in March. Erlanger received $1.3 million in June, followed by Taylor Mill with $805,000 in September.
The fund was developed with the help of the Northern Kentucky Catalytic Fund, a private nonprofit that specializes in redeveloping land that conventional developers would find unappealing.
Cities can request funding from the county so long as it’s tied to a particular development project, and the city can match 10 percent of the contribution. In this case, the city will provide $150,000 from its tax increment financing district fund to match the county’s $1.35 million.
“We’ve now invested resources from the Kenton County Redevelopment Fund in four projects, and each one helps bring meaningful projects to life,” Judge/Executive Kris Knochelmann said. “Fort Wright sits at the center of several major county corridors, and with these dollars, city leaders can leverage connectivity to spark new economic activity.”
“We are proud to invest in the Northern Kentucky market with a redevelopment project coordinated with the City of Fort Wright,” Wyler Automotive CEO David Wyler said in the announcement. “Our focus is to build a strong partnership with the leadership and citizens of both Fort Wright and Kenton County to build a first-class facility serving the NKY market.”
More information about the development will be announced early next year. LINK nky will report more on this story as it develops.