Saturday, March 13, 1999
Development planned for Cold Spring
BY PATRICK CROWLEY
The Cincinnati Enquirer
COLD SPRING — A second $20 million development has been proposed for the intersection of the AA Highway and U.S. 27 — across the street from where another $20 million project is planned.
Cincinnati developer Chip Tappan of Tappan Properties is putting together a plan to build more than 200 apartments and up to 200,000 square feet of retail and office space on 132 acres at the northeast corner of the intersection.
“We're still putting our plan together, but we're looking at anywhere from 224 luxury apartments to up to 295 apartments, depending how much retail we can get at the site,” Mr. Tappan said Friday.
“Depending on the retail we can attract, this project will be from 80,000 square feet up to 200,000 square feet of retail space,” he said.
Mr. Tappan said he would like to land a major retailer to complement the 200,000-square-foot Meijer store that will open this spring at the southwest corner of the inter section.
One or more of the stores near Meijer's Florence location has expressed an interest in opening in Campbell County, Mr. Tappan said.
But he did not say which of the stores is looking at the Cold Spring site. Stores located near the Florence Meijer include
Best Buy appliances and stereos, Kohl's department store and Media Play books, records and tapes.
The Tri-County Economic Development Corp., the Fort Mitchell agency that recruits jobs and business to the region, has told Mr. Tappan that offices may also be able to succeed at the site because of a demand for office space in the area.
“We're still working on the preliminary site plan and probably won't take a formal request for a zone change to the city until the spring or summer,” Mr. Tappan said.
Just across U.S. 27 at the intersection's northwest corner, developer Jack Morris of Campbell County wants to build a $20 million project that includes a 100-room hotel, a small conference and banquet center and restaurants on an 18-acre tract.
The plan, however, has been controversial and appears headed to court.
The Cold Spring Planning and Zoning Commission and the Northern Kentucky Area Planning Commission have both recommended that Cold Spring City Council turn down Mr. Morris request to change the zoning at the property from residential to commer cial uses.
Council is expected to vote on the zone change at its April 20 meeting.
Cold Spring City Council Justin Verst has told city council to expect a lawsuit to be filed in Campbell Circuit Court by Mr. Morris if the zone change is turned down.
A group of residents from the Sturbridge subdivision is fighting Mr. Morris' project. The subdivision is adjacent to the property.
Sturbridge resident Brian Rieger, the opposition group's spokesman, said it's too hard to say at this point if the residents will oppose Mr. Tappan's project.
“I'm not sure how the whole group would feel because we haven't talked about it as a group,” Mr. Rieger said Friday. “But I don't really think people would mind the apartments as long as they are nice.
“And we'd like to see the commercial development at that site kept to a minimum. But until we know for sure what we're dealing with it's hard for us to say,” Mr. Rieger said.
Mr. Tappan said he plans to eventually meet with the Sturbridge group once the final site plan is determined.
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