Northern Kentucky’s riverfront cities are changing. The 4th Street Bridge over the Licking River is no more, after officials blew it up in March to make way for a replacement. The historic groundbreaking for the Brent Spence Companion Bridge happened in May. And then there’s the ongoing construction of the 20-mile Riverwalk, with a goal of connecting all the river cities for cyclists and walkers.
Among all this, business leaders and city officials gathered to discuss priorities for ongoing and future riverfront priorities at this month’s Covington Business Council Luncheon.
Corporex President and COO, Brett Blackwell wants to keep the current feel of the riverfront cities — from architectural style to highlighting the views of the river — that has been preserved through recent development.
“Forty years ago we could have just built big industrial box after big industrial box,” he said.
In Covington specifically, walkability and architecture attracts employees and investors. CTI Executive Chairman and Founder Tim Schroeder said these factors played a role in their decision to move their company there 12 years ago.
“We have a young workforce, and they wanted to be in the center of the city,” Schroeder said. “So we went through this long process, and then ultimately relocated our headquarters in Covington.”
Jodi Funke, the president of Funke Real Estate Group, is developing the first set of single-family homes in the Covington Central Riverfront neighborhood. She said the company looked at the area because of the walkability. The investment has paid off.
“We have 10 single-family lots and two mixed-use buildings, and I have almost every single one of the lots sold,” Funke said.
While developers want to keep the appeal of the riverfront cities intact, they still hope to see Northern Kentucky compete on a national scale. One way has been by revitalizing General James Taylor Park while building Ovation in west Newport — a large development off the Licking River planned to hold apartments, workspaces, restaurants and hotels. Corporex is the developer on the project, and Blackwell hopes the area becomes attractive enough in the coming years for larger corporations.
“If we can get to compete with Tennessee, Florida, Texas — from that standpoint — we could get a major corporate HQ right there in Northern Kentucky,” Blackwell said.
The building of the Commonwealth Center for Biomedical Excellence has Schroeder hoping for the same.
“Between the OneNKY center, between the new medical school and law school, I would like to see Northern Kentucky become known as the biomedical hub of the world,” he said.
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