A recent vote by the county planning commission suggests that a new commercial complex could be coming to CirclePort in Boone County.
The request was made on behalf of Corporex, a Covington-based real estate developer behind CirclePort, a 650-acre mixed-use development located on the doorstep of the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport.
Last week, the Boone County Planning Commission approved a zone change for a 5.7-acre plot of land just off Mineola Pike and Olympic Boulevard in Hebron. The request sought to change the land’s zoning designation from Rural Suburban to Commercial-2. The Boone County Fiscal Court must give final approval for the zone change to be official.
The acreage is located at the southwest corner of the intersection of Mineola Pike and Olympic Boulevard. Additionally, it includes the properties at 3331 and 3333 Mineola Pike and 3332 and 3334 Booneland Trail.
“Obviously, we agree with the committee report; we do ask for your favorable recommendation,” said Tom Breidenstien, an attorney representing Corporex.
Corporex considers CirclePort to be one of the “front doors” of the Greater Cincinnati area. Since its inception in the 1980s, CirclePort has primarily operated as a business park, housing some of Northern Kentucky’s largest companies like Fischer Homes, St. Elizabeth Healthcare and Archer-Daniels-Midland.
In 2022, Corporex unveiled plans to transform the business park into a mixed-use development featuring hotels, apartment complexes, restaurants and a connection to an extensive trail system. Their goal was to help attract relocating companies and new workers to Northern Kentucky by adding more quality-of-life amenities — nature trails, dog parks, recreation venues and outdoor gathering spaces — to CirclePort.
The 5.7 acres of land impacted by the zone change are a small part of Corporex’s large-scale redevelopment of CirclePort.
Corporex plans to build a 37,300-square-foot commercial complex with six buildings. Concept plans shared at the meeting featured plots for a 6,300-square-foot gas station and convenience store, three commercial buildings and two drive-thru restaurants. The commercial buildings would vary in size from 5,000 to 11,000 square feet.
According to Corporex’s website, the site could be used as a multi-use retail center with a fuel center, convenience store, EV charging station, restaurant and retail strip.
The zone change decision included several attached conditions, such as limiting the number of drive-thru eating establishments to two and setting height parameters for the free-standing sign on the site.
Boone County Zoning Administrator Michael Schwartz said the zone change mirrored similar changes to adjacent properties over the past two years.
“In January of 2022, the Boone Fiscal Court approved a change of concept plan for the area located to the northeast of the site of question to allow commercial/retail space, a hotel, office space and restaurants,” Schwartz said. “In December of 2022, the fiscal court changed the zoning of the area located immediately to the southwest of the site to allow for a 233-unit multifamily apartment complex.”
