By Mark Hansel
NKyTribune managing editor
Dream Street in Florence is once again living up to its name.
City officials and business leaders are working to turn the oft-maligned street in Florence to its position as a destination for residents, businesses and visitors.
Dream Street’s location, just off of Interstate 71/75, between U.S, 42 and Ewing Boulevard have always made it attractive to investors.
Main Street dentist Dr. J. Robert West, Bob Evans and former Florence Mayor C.M. “Hop” Ewing in an undated photo from the dedication of the Bob Evans restaurant on Dream Street. West owned the property that became Dream Street (provided photo).
Motels and restaurants lined the street and for years, Dream Street was the go-to spot in Florence.
Many longtime residents have fond memories of cruising the bustling corridor in the 70s and Bob Evans himself showed up to dedicate a restaurant there shortly after the street was finished.
In recent years, however, Dream Street has drawn attention for different reasons.
Calls for service to Dream Street by the Florence Police Department and the City’s Fire/EMT units increased dramatically as some of the hotels turned into havens for drug use and prostitution. The culture of criminal activity extended to the surrounding areas and businesses along Dream Street began to feel the impact.
In December 2014 a shootout involving police at the former Super 8 motel resulted in a Covington teen taking his own life and in injuries to a Florence officer.
In February, police were called to the Florence Inn for reports of a man firing a shotgun into the walls of a hotel unit. Florence Police shot the man as he refused to drop a shotgun and according to police reports, aimed it at the officers.
At the time of those incidents, however, efforts were already underway to get the owners of the troubled properties to either shape up or get out.
Upgrades to the Rodeway Inn (formerly Super 8) and the closure of the Florence Inn have been a major factor in reduced calls for service to Dream Street, according to Florence Police Chief John McDermond (photos by Mark Hansel).
Both properties had become primarily residential living facilities, which was not their intended purpose and which contributed to the culture of drug use and criminal activity that existed there.
“Pull up the word Dream Street and you get all of these horrible stories and we certainly didn’t want that,” Florence Mayor Diane Whalen said.
The city used its chronic nuisance ordinance to put pressure on the owner of the former Super 8, Mahesh Nichani, to clean up the property. Nichani changed the name of the property after losing his franchise agreement and eventually sold it.
The new owner, Rakesh Taneja, specializes in turning around problem motels and secured a franchise agreement with Rodeway Inn. He has moved out many of those who were using the motel for long-term residency.
Autumn VanWinkle of Florence left Holiday Inn to become general manager at Rodeway Inn and said the property operates more like a traditional overnight-stay motel.
“We’ve done a lot of upgrading and added a whole new team which makes a big difference,” Van Winkle said. “We have zero-tolerance for any kind of criminal activity, mainly the drug, which was a big problem here. It was hard for me to have to put people out, but it needed to be done to upgrade the property.”
The Northern Kentucky Health Department shut down the Florence Inn after its owner failed to bring the property up to code, despite repeated extensions. A demolition order was issued for the property by the Florence Code Enforcement Board in October.
A new McDonald’s restaurant to replace the aging facility on Dream Street is under construction. Florence Mayor Diane Whalen said the commitment of companies that cater to children and families demonstrate confidence in the revitalization of the corridor.
Florence Police Chief John McDermond said there is a noticeable difference in the climate on Dream Street.
“From the police department’s perspective, we are encouraged with the changes taking place on Dream Street,” McDermond said. “Our calls for service on Dream Street have dropped dramatically, mainly due to new ownership at the Roadway Inn and the closing of the Florence Inn.”
While the negative reputation of Dream Street has impacted business, longtime owners never lost faith and new investors, encouraged by the clean-up efforts, are once again coming to the corridor.
Mike Cartuyvelles, owner of SubStation II, and once one of the city’s harshest critics, applauds the effort to revitalize Dream Street.
“I think what the city has done here is great,” Cartuyvelles said. “It’s what needed to happen to bring it back. People didn’t want to even come onto this street.”
Some of the changes at existing businesses include a complete rebuild of the McDonald’s restaurant and a façade upgrade at the Wendy’s location.
Mike Cartuyvelles, owner of SubStation II was once one of the harshest critics of Dream Street. He now applauds the efforts to return the corridor to its former glory.
A 5,000-square foot strip center, which will include a Subway restaurant is being competed near the Biederman Education Center, a child care facility.
Whalen said the decision for businesses that cater to children and families to remain on Dream Street or upgrade facilities is a vote of confidence.
“These companies all do their due diligence and they wouldn’t come here or stay here if they didn’t think it was safe and a good investment,” Whalen said.
Construction is also currently underway at Magnolia Spring Assisted Living, a senior facility located near the intersection of Ewing Boulevard.
In May, Heritage Bank opened an operations center, which includes its loan and residential mortgage processes, to a vacant office building on Dream Street.
“These companies all do their due diligence and they wouldn’t come here or stay here if they didn’t think it was safe and a good investment,” Florence Mayor Diane Whalen
Lytle Thomas, president and CEO of Heritage Bank, said the central location right off the interstate made the building a good fit, but the company also wanted to be part of changing the perception of Dream Street.
“We are a community bank and we are very involved and very interested in our local communities,” Thomas said. “Dream Street had a bad reputation, whether that was fair or not, I don’t know, but sometimes you have to stand up with bold leadership.”
Heritage Bank moved 24 employees from locations in the area, including its Florence and Burlington Banking Centers.
“There was a building there that fit our needs, so we met with the mayor and the police chief and talked about our hope to go there and we made that a reality,” Thomas said. “We invested a lot of money in that building in the hopes that it would begin a domino effect down there and there has been a significant investment. Clearly, the commitment from the city to improve issues at Dream Street was a major factor in our decision”
Lytle Thomas, president and CEO of Heritage Bank said the financial institution embraced the opportunity to contribute to the revitalization of Dream Street. Heritage Bank opened an operations center there in May.
Conficare Senior Living Development and Investment Company is currently constructing the Magnolia Springs facility, to be located near Ewing Boulevard.
Magnolia Springs is certified as an assisted living facility, with 111 studio, one- and two-bedroom apartments. It will also include 23 units allocated for memory care.
Robert Bush, managing director of Conficare, said the company saw the entire Northern Kentucky market as an area that would be a good home for Magnolia Springs and the services that it offered.
“From all of the research that we had done, we felt that our community fit in well culturally to the Florence community, and in particular to that site and its location,” Bush said. “Some of the revitalization effort, including the construction upgrades on U.S. 42 and on Dream Street itself, and the proximity to downtown Florence and the Mall area were factors in our decision. (The reputation of the motels) did present a bit of a concern, but we also felt that our project would significantly aid in the revitalization.”
McDermond said that while things have improved dramatically on Dream Street, the police department will not let down its guard.
“The Police Department will continue to have a presence on the Dream Street to help maintain the progress we have made,” McDermond said. “With the businesses currently operating on Dream St. along with the new construction projects, the future of Dream St. is very positive.”
Contact Mark Hansel at mark.hansel@nkytrib.com
