The owners of the Dunkin’ Donuts at 3011 Frederica Street invited Wesleyan Heights residents to a forum at the Owensboro Convention Center on Wednesday to discuss potential plans to move the restaurant north two blocks.
The proposed new location would reside at 2805 and 2811 Frederica Street, just before Wildwood Drive, which serves as the entrance to the Wesleyan Heights neighborhood. Several residents were in attendance, and while some understood the thought process behind the move, most were there to voice their concerns.
The owners of Dunkin’ – Sita Devi, LLC – acquired the property in April 2009, a little more than two years before opening the restaurant. One of the owners, Josh Sutton, was the primary spokesperson for the restaurant during the meeting.
He repeated on several occasions that he wanted to keep things civil, gain a better understanding of the resident’s concerns, and hopefully offer solutions for them.
“We understand this is a neighborhood, and we’ve heard concerns as we’ve gone to talk to everybody about how having any kind of business or any development in front of the neighborhood would increase traffic,” Sutton told attendees. “Tonight, we wanted to address those and other issues you are concerned about. We haven’t made any decisions – this is just what we are proposing.”
Attendees immediately fired back at Sutton with an abundance of concerns. While Sutton said he and his team had walked the neighborhood several times to meet with people, some neighbors suggested that wasn’t the case.
The owners presented attendees with an informational graphic detailing the proposed plan. The diagram shows that Sita Devi, LLC is proposing a Dunkin’ Donuts location with an outdoor patio, two extra-long drive-thru lines, mobile pick-up spots, and more.
The property would also feature a multi-use commercial rental space, which Sutton ensured residents would be limited to family-friendly businesses. The south end would feature corporate offices for the owners, while the north end – at the entrance to the neighborhood – would feature a park with ample green space, a playground, and a walking path.
According to homeowners, this marks the third time since acquiring the property that the owners have attempted to convert the lot into a commercial space. While some residents agreed the new proposal had promise, there’s a chance it falls victim to the same Dedication and Restrictions of Wesleyan Heights Subdivision that have kept every lot residential since 1954.
That document states in Article 1 that “all lots shall be used for residential purposes only.” Article 13 says the restrictions would terminate in 2000 unless more than 75% of homeowners in the neighborhood agreed to an extension during the 2 years prior.
They did. On December 9, 1999, more than 75% of the residents agreed to keep the entire subdivision residential through January 1, 2046 — with the same opportunity to extend the restriction.
“I’m sure many of you know we attempted this rezoning 30 years ago. We tried to discuss it, and many people weren’t interested,” Sutton said. “I understand that not everybody’s in favor of this. I do understand that, and I want to give everybody a chance to explain why. I just want to give everyone an actual chance to hear it (the proposal) and allow others to provide their perspectives.”
A primary concern for most attendees, which Sutton was eager to address, was traffic and safety. The current Dunkin’ location often backs up traffic on Frederica during peak morning rush hours.
“When we first brought Dunkin’ here 13 years ago, we never knew if it was going to work or not,” he said. “We’ve been lucky and blessed that it’s been as successful as it’s been. No one could have predicted it would be as welcomed and embraced, but it has, and we’ve grown.”
While residents are concerned the move would transition traffic north to the entrance of Wesleyan Heights, Sutton said the move would actually decrease traffic. Sutton added that the new location would also allow them to focus more on mobile ordering and pick-up, which has become a focus for most fast-food restaurants.
“I’m sure many of you see in the mornings our traffic problems. Frederica gets backed up so much, and it’s a difficult problem to solve,” he said. “Where we are currently located, just the physical constraints of that line limit our options to address the safety concerns that have come about, and we’re doing the best we can with the lot we have.”
The proposed design only permits entry and exit from Frederica Street, with no entrance on Wildwood Drive. Sutton said the additional drive-thru line, the extension of said lines, and a significantly larger parking lot will optimize flow and eliminate traffic congestion on Frederica.
Many residents also voiced concerns over the already-difficult intersection to navigate at Wildwood and Frederica. With a right-turn-only exit, residents also fear that many drivers will now consider using Wildwood as a cut-through and increase traffic in their neighborhood.
Sutton combatted this with his team’s proposition before the Kentucky Department of Transportation. He said they’ve been discussing adding an additional stop light with state officials to prevent cars from blocking the Wildwood entrance. The new light would simply mirror the existing one, adding another line of protection for the entry.
With the lots at at 2805 and 2811 Frederica Street sitting vacant since 2009, Sutton and his team are ready to explore returns on their investment. While the Dunkin’ proposal is their primary focus, he said they wouldn’t eliminate the thought of erecting rental properties because of the current zoning restrictions.
This was in response to a concerned resident who mentioned the elephant in the room: an anonymous letter that surfaced in the neighborhood suggesting the possibility of two halfway houses on the property. Some residents suggested that Sutton and his team crafted the letter as an “intimidation tactic,” but he assured everyone that wasn’t the case.
“I am aware of the letter that’s going around – somebody showed it to me and informed us about this,” he said. “We didn’t make that letter, but we did have conversations with a lot of you about what our plans are. If Dunkin’ doesn’t proceed, we do have intentions to do something with the land. And what we discussed was the most practical thing to do with the land is to split the land up and put rental properties there and outsource the management of those.”
He continued, “Halfway homes have been used by some of these properties or management companies, so I don’t want to say it wouldn’t ever be used for that, but that’s not our intention. But somebody took that conversation, ran with it, and sent a letter out telling you guys that that’s what we’re going to do.”
The owners and residents reached no formal agreement during the meeting.
