By Brenna R. Kelly
The Cincinnati Enquirer

Rick Frederick, owner of The Landscape Supply, Burlington, in a "hoop" greenhouse at the business. He has put the 13-acre site of the business on Ky. 18 up for sale. (Patrick Reddy/The Cincinnati Enquirer)

BURLINGTON - A multimillion-dollar YMCA started going up down the road. A doctor's office opened across the street. And construction started on a three-story office building next to his nursery on Burlington Pike. Finally, Rick Frederick began to take notice.

It made him think: What would it take for him to sell The Landscape Supply - the business he's owned for 13 years and worked at for 25?

The answer - about $8 million.

"The area is just exploding," said Frederick, 55, who has put the 13-acre nursery up for sale.

"I love what I do," he said. "I love plants and what goes along with that, but I don't enjoy spending more and more time doing this."

With recent cold, wet springs, increasing competition, and rising labor and fuel costs, Frederick said he hasn't made a profit for the last three years.

"It becoming more and more difficult for small businesses to survive," he said.

With his profits decreasing, and the value of land increasing, "I just said 'Why I am I doing this?' "

Frederick listed his land with a Realtor last year, but recently hung a large banner from his sign. The 13 acres, two of which are owned by Frederick's ex-wife, are listed at $7.9 million.

In addition to Frederick's land, there are at least 8 acres nearby for sale. About 6 are listed with the same firm that listed Frederick's land.

About 41/2 acres behind Gold Star Chili are on the market for $850,000, and two 1-acre parcels on Ky. 18 are each listed at $400,000.

"It's just exploding out there now," said Tom Helson, the Realtor who has the listings. "It's just perfect timing."

A little further west on 18, the Burlington Fire Department had two 1-acre lots for sale near its new fire station. One lot is under contract for $350,000, said Chief Ernie Biddle. The buyer plans to build a car wash there. The other is listed at $300,000.

Frederick met with a developer this week to discuss ideas for his site, which is zoned for commercial uses. Frederick said he would like to see a "lifestyle center" with a mix of retail, office and residential.

"They are not going to pay that much money to build something trashy," he said. The zoning would allow anything from a car dealership to a restaurant, hotel, church or flea market.

If the land hasn't sold by March 1, Frederick plans to open the nursery for the spring planting season. The business makes most of its money during 90 days in spring, "but the costs are 365 days," he said.

For the last three years, cold, wet springs have dampened that business. And the opening of the nearby Boone County Farmer's Market two years ago also cut into business, Frederick said.

"It's really a farmer's garden center," he said. The farmers can sell shrubs and landscaping cheaper in part because they don't have year-round employees, he said.

"If I didn't have to pay all those things, then I could compete with those people," he said.

If the land sells, Frederick said he would likely auction his inventory.

He'll miss the customers the most, Frederick said. He loves helping people find a unique plant or tree.

"Most people see landscaping as a necessary evil," he said. "But there is a certain percentage of people who truly love working in their yards."

Frederick, who got into the landscape business with his former father-in-law Dick Ammon, says he hopes to stay in the landscape industry, possibly as a buyer.

"Just something that won't beat me to death," he said.

E-mail bkelly@enquirer.com