COVINGTON, Ky. - A special, temporary agreement that allowed free parking on evenings and weekends at the RiverHaus construction site in MainStrasse Village lasted eight months longer than expected, but that free parking is about to end.

 

With construction winding to a close at RiverHaus and its accompanying parking garage, drivers will be charged a flat rate of $5 to park beginning Sept. 19, according to a local representative for developer Flaherty & Collins Properties, which owns and controls the garage.

 

For the time being, however, parking will remain limited to the hours of 7 p.m. to 5 a.m. Monday through Saturday and all day Sunday.

 

That $5 fee (for up to 12 hours) is expected to be the standard rate once the garage is complete in November, with special events (such as Bengals games, including this Sunday) costing $10, said the representative, Deron Kintner.

 

As part of an unusual arrangement, the developer had agreed to allow free parking on the active construction site at the request of the City just before the holiday shopping season in late 2018. At that time, Flaherty & Collins said it expected to begin charging a fee beginning in early 2019.

 

“We held off as long as we could,” Kintner said. “We didn’t want to start charging as long as the site was filled with construction equipment and material and was somewhat difficult to navigate, but now it’s close to functioning in a normal fashion.”

 

City Economic Development Director Tom West said the City and visitors to the area were fortunate to have free parking for 10 months.

 

“It was great while it lasted, and we appreciate Flaherty & Collins working with us to help our businesses in MainStrasse Village,” West said. “Parking is always at a premium, and especially so during construction, and this was a very practical solution. A lot of people took advantage of it.”

 

West said he considered the $5 fee “a bargain” when compared to parking costs in Cincinnati, “especially given the huge array of one-of-a-kind, authentic restaurants, nightclubs and shops available in MainStrasse Village.”

 

For the next couple of nights, parking in the garage, which is accessible off Main Street, might not be available until 8 p.m. or 9 p.m. while workers power-wash and stripe the garage, Kintner pointed out.

 

Visitors can also park on the street and use valet parking, which is available at the northeast corner of Sixth and Main streets.

 

The $50 million RiverHaus project, located at the corner of 5^th and Main streets, will bring about 190 luxury apartments, retail space, and a parking garage to the MainStrasse Village neighborhood. Under a deal with the City, about 100 spaces in the private garage will remain open to the public, with the rest reserved for residents.

 

Ground on RiverHaus was broken in December 2017, and the pace of construction was severely affected by the wet weather. But the first phase of the project - visible with its brightly colorful blue, charcoal gray and light gray exterior - should be completely finished in November, Kintner said.

“People can prelease now and we already have a number of units preleased,” he said. “Approximately one-half of the units are available now, and we have first move-ins next week.”

Workers plant flowers along Main Street outside the entrance to the RiverHaus parking garage.