Consultant to re-create Mall Road
Retailers expected to be recruited

By Denise Wilson
Post staff reporter

Plans to reinvent Mall Road moved forward Tuesday, when Florence City Council approved a contract with its retail consultant.

Council unanimously approved a municipal order that authorizes Florence Mayor Diane Whalen to extend a contract with Stan Eichelbaum and his Cincinnati-based firm, Marketing Developments Inc., to conduct the next phase of the Mall Road Study, said Assistant City Coordinator Rick Lunnemann.

His vision is to turn the aging corridor into a vibrant mixed-use, lifestyle center.

The city will pay Eichelbaum $74,400 for that phase, plus a $2,400 per month consulting fee.

The city paid him $31,600 for the first phase.

Not only is the city looking to the firm to re-create the corridor, but to retain and recruit retailers that other developers might be trying to lure away to other nearby retail centers.

There are two under construction in Crescent Springs and Crestview Hills and another planned in Erlanger.

Eichelbaum's plan envisions mix-use residential, senior housing and/or office integration into several strip centers, landscaping, walking and bike paths, shops and restaurants and traffic circles.

The plan would require millions of dollars in private and public investment to become reality.

The second phase will include:

-Initiating local and national publicity regarding the Florence retail market.

-Meeting with key property owners, retailers and community groups.

-Compiling and creating an academic report that will be used to prove Florence's market validity.

Lunnemann said Eichelbaum is expected to complete the project before May.

The steps in the second phase are a result of a brainstorming session the city held in September, after which Miami, Fla.-based Beame Architectural Partnership produced conceptual drawings from the session.

Eichelbaum brought on Beame Architectural to help find ways to enable the one-mile strip -- between Ky. 18 and U.S. 42 -- to make the transition from a past-its-prime retail area to a regional destination.

The design calls for up to 340,000 square feet of retail and entertainment development that would generate 950 jobs and offices encompassing more than 450,000 square feet with space for 2,400 new employees.

The makeover also includes changing the name from Mall Road to City Center Boulevard and making significant roadway and streetscape improvements.

"That (renaming) would be an issue that would be discussed among the council after the new year as well as a number of other items that the staff has already started to work on such as entry way signage to the Mall Road corridor . -- " Lunnemann said.

He said the city is working with the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet and will be talking with Boone County officials about teaming up to make infrastructure improvements to the state roadway such as pedestrian improvements, landscaping and adding boulevard roundabouts.


Publication Date: 12-22-2004