CirclePort, Boone County’s business park, is being reimagined as a signature mixed-use development for Northern Kentucky.
Located around Mineola Pike off I-275, the 650-acre development has primarily been a business-park-focused development since its opening in the 1980s. Construction and design plans for the mixed-used development have been unveiled by Corporex, the developer behind CirclePort.
Boone County and Corporex are working together to rezone approximately 200 acres for build-to-suit development opportunities in CirclePort.
“Since its inception, CirclePort has been a cornerstone development for Northern Kentucky, serving as one of the very first spaces travelers see as they arrive from the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport,” said Corporex Chief Real Estate Officer Tom Banta.
The construction plans for CirclePort include a new retail plaza, which will be dubbed The Point at CirclePort. Situated adjacent to the Courtyard Marriott hotel, the new plaza will offer additional entertainment, residential, industrial and hotel opportunities.
A second retail-focused area, called 4C at CirclePort, has been developed by Corporex. It features land ready for stand-alone, build-to-suit restaurants, or entertainment use. Infrastructure necessities such as underground utilities, an internal roadway system and a fiber optics network are already in place. There is also a scenic park setting that includes decorative lakes and fountains.
Due to the economic evolution of Northern Kentucky since CirclePort’s opening, Corporex is shifting the development focus to better suit the region’s current needs. CirclePort is located within close proximity to important regional economic hubs such as CVG Airport and the newly renovated Turfway Park.
“Evolving CirclePort into a mixed-use development provides new opportunities for retail, entertainment, residential, industrial, light manufacturing and hotel needs to be fulfilled within the area,” Banta said. “As nearby companies like Amazon and DHL continue to expand in and around CVG, we expect to see a growing workforce and increased demand for these types of businesses and amenities in the area.”
According to a 2016 Economic Impact Study, the region hosted 26.1 million visitors in 2016. The region’s rising tourism numbers recently prompted the Christian organization Answers in Genesis to purchase the Atlantic Corporate Center in CirclePort for $31.3 million. The building was formerly the Toyota Motor North America Inc. headquarters.
“With attendance returning to pre-pandemic levels, Answers in Genesis is working on expansion plans,” said Answers in Genesis CEO Ken Ham. “The purchase of the building located so close to the gateway to tourism in our region is a large part of that plan.”