The Boone County Planning Commission is moving forward with two real estate projects that recently passed through a key committee.
Last week, the planning commission’s Zone Change Committee approved two concept development plan modifications: one for a Wawa and the other for a new Bank of America branch.
The full planning commission will review both requests at the board’s next regular meeting on Aug. 6. If approved, the requests will be presented to the Boone County Fiscal Court, which can conduct either a first or second reading, leading to approval. They can also deny the request.
Wawa
The zone change committee approved a concept development plan change to permit the construction of a Wawa gas station in Florence.
The full planning commission first discussed the request at a public hearing held on July 2. Landowners The Deters Company, a fast-food franchisee from Burlington, and Vuong Xuan Nguyen of Walton, want to develop a Wawa convenience store and gas station at 8450 US-42 in Florence.
CESO Inc., a developer based in Miamisburg, Ohio, was the party that submitted the request to revise the concept development plan. Together, the landowners and development team plan to demolish the site’s existing gas station, convenience store, and restaurant.
The development team intends to replace these structures with a new Wawa convenience store and gas station, covering 6,375 square feet. The project will feature 10 fuel pump islands and a 7,100-square-foot fuel canopy.
During the public hearing, Brenda Haynes, a neighboring property owner, expressed concerns that the new gas station and the resulting increase in traffic could negatively impact her quality of life.
At the zone change committee meeting, a key concern was the impact of tractor-trailer traffic on the proposed Wawa, particularly regarding larger tanker trucks crossing lanes on US-42 to access the interstate.
Wawa representative Patrick Warnement said that truck deliveries to the store would occur two to three times per week, typically between 7 and 11 a.m.
To resolve this, Wawa committed to installing a directional sign at the fuel tanks that guides trucks to exit onto Hopeful Church Road, in addition to widening the US 42 curb cut by 12 feet to facilitate easier turns.
“If we can put a little placard up there that says ‘truck drivers go to Hopeful Church Road,’ we’ll do that,” he said.
Wawa has yet to open a location in Boone County, though it has announced multiple projects in Northern Kentucky as part of its regional expansion.
Bank of America
The planning commission’s zone change committee approved a concept development plan change for a new Bank of America branch near Union and Florence.
The site in question is approximately one acre in size, located at 8748 US 42, at the northeast corner of the intersection of US 42 and Farmview Drive. The site is currently zoned as Commercial/Union Neighborhood Office/Urban Residential Two/Planned Development.
Yemo Koo, a representative from Bank of America, first brought the concept development plan change request before the planning commission during the public hearing on July 2.
Koo said that Bank of America plans to construct a 4,500-square-foot building with a drive-thru and 34 parking spaces. The drive-thru will be able to handle four cars at a time.
The branch will be part of the larger Farmview Commons complex, which will include a 56,264-square-foot Publix grocery store as the main tenant. Earlier this year, the planning commission approved a master plan for the Publix development.
Under this plan, two commercial outlots were approved for buildings ranging from 4,500 to 6,650 square feet in size. The new bank branch will occupy one of these outlots.
One of the concerns raised by the planning commission was the proposed facade of the building. Initially, Bank of America wanted to have Arctic white ‘hardie board’ panels covering a large part of the building’s exterior.
After several members of the planning commission objected to the facade, Bank of America changed the exterior material. Going forward, the building’s facade will incorporate brick to better match the surrounding area’s architectural style.
“So the applicant has significantly changed the look of their proposal. They are now proposing primarily brick facade,” Boone County Planner Steve Lilly said. “It’s wrapped around all four sides really quickly.”
Commissioner Rick Lunnemann complimented Koo and Bank of America for implementing the changes.
“I think the changes you’ve made have gone a long way to really improving the development itself,” Lunnemann said.