INDEPENDENCE, KY. — A new park project in Kenton County will aim to improve quality of life while attracting new residents and businesses to the area.
The land was once the Fox Run Golf Course, but the high-level 18-hole course was a little too much for Kenton County to maintain in addition to its other two courses, so it was closed.
In the time since, some have asked: why not sell it? Judge Executive Kris Knochelmann said, for one, it was acquired with federal funding.
“So if we ever actually sold that property, those dollars would go back to the feds. So it was a great opportunity to make the space the new opportunity for Kenton County’s park system,” Knochelmann said.
The 225 acres in Independence, which is open now for passive recreation like walking, has a lot of potential. The Kenton County Fiscal Court approved J.S. Held to serve as its owner’s representative for the development of a new county park, which is the same organization Covington hired for the Covington Central Riverfront. Their role as the owner’s representative will include advising on design development, monitoring progress and ensuring the project aligns with the County’s goals and expectations.
Knochelmann said the park will take a modern approach.
“A next generation park that does not have the typical baseball fields, soccer fields. There will be areas that can be utilized for that kind of thing,” Knochelmann said. “But it will be trails, bike trails, walking trails, dog parks, different shelters, restrooms.”
And, he said, an event or nature center for people to rent out. It’ll be the largest of the county’s seven parks. About a decade ago, the county did a study that looked at available green space.
“When you take the golf courses out, we are very under green spaced, under-parked. It really is an attraction and a retention thing, and quality of life, parks are really required,” Knochelmann said. “In terms of overall capacity for our population, we needed to add this space.”
The planned Eons Park in Erlanger is another example of a large park that will serve as an economic development tool. The same designers will work on the Kenton County park.
“It improves health, it improves connectivity of families. People can get off their cell phones,” Knochelmann said. “We have a lot of companies that want to come to northern Kentucky. And they’ll ask: where are the parks? I’ve literally sat in recruiting meetings with companies and they’ve said, where are our workers? And, oh, by the way, where’s the closest trail system?”
Pretty soon, it’ll be in Independence. Knochelmann said he expects RFPs to be put out for contractors in the next three to six months, and he wants dirt to start moving in 2025.
In late August, the Fiscal Court contracted with the design firm Human Nature to update the park’s master plan. This work aims to refine the project’s scope and provide updated cost estimates, laying the foundation for a state-of-the-art recreational space that meets the community’s needs.