The City of Crestwood has its eyes set on the Dollar Tree property at the corner of highways 329 and 22 in the plaza by Taste of Thai and the temporary courthouse.
Mayor Jim Kramer confirmed that the city recently sent a letter of intent to purchase the $5 million property from the E-line Development Group based out Deerfield, Illinois.
Brian Fogle, Assistant Director of Oldham County Planning and Zoning, said the roughly 1.3-acre parcel features the Dollar Tree building and immediately-surrounding parking lot.
“[The current owners] were looking to sell,” Mayor Kramer said. “We felt it made sense to purchase it so we own that entire corner from a parking perspective, as well as from a property perspective.”
The tentative purchase intersects with more than $200,000 in city funds for ongoing interior and exterior renovations to the Stoess Manor building, which, as of its Nov. 2 grand opening date, is home to Crestwood Mercantile, a home décor vendors’ market.
The city commission held a special-called meeting Oct. 20 to vote on one of several loan options for the pending $5 million Dollar Tree purchase.
Of four financing options, the commission opted for Park National Bank (PNB) on a 10-year loan at 5.2% interest and a $1,500 loan fee. Kramer said he believes the city will pay off the loan in seven years.
While PNB offered the lowest loan fee and rate, the rate will adjust after five and become subject to market value.
PNC and MidSouthern banks, by contrast, required a $20,000 loan fee, but with fixed rates.
Commissioner Terry Weathers acknowledged the higher loan fees of those banks, but also expressed concern about market fluctuations in the future.
“I’m worried about it coming back at a super high rate,” he said.
Kramer acknowledged the potential risk, but said rates would really have to spike to reach the $20,000 upfront fee and extra interest from other options.
“If they do come back with a crazy high rate, we would use reserves to pay it off,” he said. “We have a money market CD as well to pay it off if something crazy happens.”
Amid the loan approval, all of Crestwood’s state funding sources from the state remain frozen due to audit noncompliance with the Department For Local Government (DLG).
Kramer said the banks asked to see the city’s audit but that the noncompliance with DLG did not impair their financing options.
A DLG spokesperson confirmed in an email that the city must submit audits from both the 2021 and 2022 fiscal years to become compliant and receive the back held state funding. The FY 2021 audit was due Dec. 1, 2022 and the FY 2022 audit was due March 1, 2023, according to DLG.
“The city’s Municipal Road Aid (MRA) funds must be withheld per state law,” a DLG spokesman wrote in an email. “DLG has contacted the Finance and Administration Cabinet and they are withholding any funds in the possession of any agency, entity, or branch of state government from the city until compliance is met.”
Kramer explained the reasons behind the audit delay in an interview after the Oct. 17 special-called meeting.
Near the time of the FY 2021 audit due date, Kramer said the city’s then-auditor, Kelly King & Co. of Crestwood, had to withdraw due to staffing shortages as a result of COVID-19.
“Right before the audit was due, [Kelly King] informed us they would no longer be performing audits because they didn’t have enough resources,” Kramer said.
Kramer was complimentary of the city’s relationship with Kelly King, but said the delay resulted in the two fiscal years of audit backlogging.
“It takes several months to find an auditor and interview the one you’re comfortable with,” he said. “The audits [themselves] take several months to complete [and] as soon as we get the completed audit from two years ago, we’ll have [the new auditor] immediately start the next one.”
He said the city has since contracted Baldwin CPAs to conduct those audits.
“We’ve already completed the paperwork and all [documentation] is with the auditor,” he said. “They are actively reviewing and validating all the information.”
Kramer also said a “freezing” of state funds from DLG does not indicate loss of those funds.
“Those funds are just held,” he said. “As soon as they receive the audit[s], it will open back up and we’ll receive the funds that are past due.”
On Nov. 28 at 9 a.m. in the Oldham County Fiscal Court building, the planning and zoning commission will conduct a public hearing for the approval of a master plan and zoning map amendment for 500 acres of land in Crestwood to be known as “Clore Station.”
Local architect Gant Jones filed the application.
The multi-use development marks a large family effort between the Clore and Jones families, the former with roots in Oldham County dating back to 1808. Local developer Bob Jones, Gant’s father, married Carla Clore Jones in 1965, bridging the families together. Bob, Carla, Gant and Clay Jones, in addition to the late Lee Clore, among others, collaborated on the vision.
While Clore-Jones hired global planning firm DPZ—of Norton Commons fame—to develop a master plan for the property in 2019, they only recently filed a zoning map amendment for the planned neighborhood development.
The rezoning consists of multiple parcels along Hwy 329 and Veterans’ Memorial Parkway on both sides of I-71 in Crestwood. If approved, it will change all parcels to Planned Neighborhood Development (PND). Components of the development include mixed-use buildings, diverse housing and an emphasis on sidewalks, trails, walkability, open spaces and conservation, according to planning documents.
The “traditional neighborhood development” style emphasizes pedestrians and de-emphasizes vehicles. It also envisions streets fronted by buildings rather than parking lots and amenities accessible within a five-minute walking distance according to a Clore-Jones presentation during a neighborhood meeting at First Baptist Church Aug. 22
The northeast parcel of the development carves out 64 acres for the new Baptist Health hospital district.
“We decided a health care campus made a lot of sense,” Jones said. “[That includes] seven acres of frontage of the health care district for retail and commercial.”
While the Baptist Health quadrant will anchor the development, other sections, like the “jughandle” at the intersection of 329 where it fades into the bypass, include a proposed hotel or potential restaurant, according to Jones.
“This is a key point of the city, an introduction to Crestwood that greets everyone coming to town from the highway,” he said.
The Nov. 28 planning commission meeting provides an opportunity for public comment in support or opposition to the development. If approved by the planning commission, it advances to the Crestwood City Commission for a final vote.