By Denise Wilson
Post staff reporter
Florence's Mall Road could become a dominant commercial hub and the city's
population could increase tenfold if the Mall Road corridor can be reinvented
as a mixed-use, lifestyle center for Northern Kentucky, according to a study
unveiled Tuesday night.
Cincinnati retail consultant Stan Eichelbaum envisioned shopping areas like Rookwood Commons in Norwood, walking and bike paths, shops and restaurants, offices and state-of-the-art cinemas as elements in the area. The makeover would go so far as to change the name from Mall Road to City Center Boulevard and include significant roadway and streetscape improvements.
Eichelbaum is president of Cincinnati-based Marketing Developments Inc., which conducted the study that sought input from local and state agencies and property owners and tenants along the road. He presented Florence City Council with the second phase of the study Tuesday night.
The plan would require millions of dollars in private and public investment to become reality.
"This was a test of permissibilities," he said. "What could be put onto this land and how much fun can we have with it, and how much can we improve the aesthetic of it."
The city hired Eichelbaum and he brought on Beame Architectural Partnership of Miami, Fla., to assist in exploring ways to enable the one-mile strip -- between Ky. 18 and U.S. 42 -- make the transition from a past-its-prime retail area to a destination again for people across the region.
Based on its retail and commercial dominance, Florence has the capability to become the core regional community with a population of 243,000 and a trade area that would generate sales of $5.9 billion a year, the study concluded.
"It is a trade area comparable to Lexington, Ky., Mobile, Ala, Madison, Wis, or Des Moines, Iowa," Eichelbaum said.
The study included several recommendations that the consultants asked the city to act upon immediately. Among them:
• Encouraging development of land between Florence Mall and Florence Square.
The study said possibilities included a lifestyle and entertainment pedestrian connection that could have 285,000 square feet of retail/entertainment development.
• Considering mix-use residential, senior housing and/or office integration into several strip centers.
• Suggesting initial direction for cosmetic updating of several older properties on Mall Road by adding towers, awnings and reworking facades.
• Creating gateways to the commercial district.
Eichelbaum said initial reaction to the plan has been favorable from two of the largest stakeholders on the corridor, including General Growth Properties, which acquired Florence Mall in 2002, and New Plan Excel Realty Trust Inc., which owns Florence Square across from the mall. Retailers have also liked the plan, he said.
Publication Date: 10-27-2004