The Boone County Planning Commission has recommended approval of two transformative projects for familiar brands in the county.
The planning commission held a business meeting on Nov. 5, during which it reviewed numerous zoning requests, including two affecting a UDF in the Dixie Highway area and a Comfort Inn in Florence. The goal of both requests was to modernize each building’s appearance.
Spark by Hilton
The Comfort Inn in Florence is one step closer to becoming Spark by Hilton, a premium economy hotel brand within the Hilton portfolio.
Located at 7454 Turfway Road, the hotel’s owner, Bimal Patel, has requested a modification to its concept development plan to rebrand the hotel. The conversion involves changing the hotel’s exterior color scheme, along with the addition of two large murals. The murals are slated to be 675 and 603 square feet in size.
The hotel was originally constructed in the late 1990s as a Red Roof Inn before being converted into a Comfort Inn.
Boone County Planner Lauren Elliott said the property owners have agreed to adhere to the Houston-Donaldson Overlay District guidelines, which allow for alternative signage that is creative, flexible, and high-quality for planned development sites.
“The committee concluded that the location of the proposed murals and positioning on the building will minimize visibility and distraction to motorists on Turfway Road while adhering to the requirements of the Spark by Hilton branding,” Elliott said.
As a condition of approval, the property owner agreed to replace the existing red roof shingles with charcoal gray shingles to match the approved exterior color palette. However, David Coley, representing the owner, said the roof replacement was already complete.
The full commission later unanimously recommended approval of the change and forwarded it to the City of Florence for final action.
United Dairy Farmers
The UDF at 577 Dixie Highway in Florence plans to demolish the current convenience store and gas station and replace it with a more modern design, similar to other recent UDF stores, such as the one at 9520 Union Promenade Drive in Union.
Wawa, a growing convenience store franchise from Pennsylvania, is planned for construction across the street from UDF, amid the brand’s aggressive expansion into Greater Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky. To remain competitive, UDF is investing in upgrading the store in anticipation of increased competition from Wawa.
The plan requires the planning commission to approve both a zone change request and a concept development change request for the land where UDF is located, changing it from Industrial One to Commercial One.
Once completed, the new UDF campus will feature a 6,300-square-foot convenience store and a gas canopy with eight pumps.
After review by the planning commission staff, Boone County Planner Steve Lilly said that the staff believes the zone change request is suitable for the site.
K4 Architecture, the firm responsible for the requests, said UDF will adhere to Kentucky Transportation Cabinet standards, which mandate right-in/right-out entrances. Mike Collins, a representative at K4, said UDF is planning to install “mountable pork chop islands” at both entrances.
“I believe our plan is to do the mountable pork chop Island, that way the trucks can maneuver, if need be,” he said.
Ultimately, the planning commission recommended approval of the requests, which now proceed to the Boone County Fiscal Court for final approval.