Hilltop Basic Resources is supplying the concrete for the ongoing Riverfront Commons trail and amphitheater project on the Ohio riverfront. The company is moving its headquarters to Covington this summer.
Top supplier of construction materials brings 20 jobs, prestige
COVINGTON, Ky. - A company that has been shaping Covington’s skyline will soon be a part of it.
Hilltop Basic Resources Inc. - the Tristate’s leading supplier of construction materials - is moving its corporate headquarters to the Covington riverfront, bringing 20 high-paying jobs, a $3.3 million investment, a 79-year history, and a connection to many of the riverfront’s highest-profile buildings and infrastructure projects.
Family-owned Hilltop said it has signed a lease to occupy 9,500 square feet in the RiverCenter I tower at 50 E. RiverCenter Blvd. and will relocate from Cincinnati on July 31.
The new Covington location is surrounded by projects Hilltop helped build, including both RiverCenter towers, The Ascent at Roebling’s Bridge residential tower, Great American Ball Park and The Banks in Cincinnati, as well as the ongoing Riverfront Commons trail and amphitheater project that will physically and spiritually reconnect Covington to the Ohio River.
Covington Economic Development Director Tom West said the company’s arrival both symbolizes Covington’s growing momentum and accelerates it.
“Hilltop Resources is a prestigious company and a perfect fit with our strategic goals for attracting jobs to the Cov,” West said. “With this addition, our department is nearing the milestone of 1,000 new jobs announced since March, which is an incredible statistic given the generally negative effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on the economy.”
Hilltop’s move became public Tuesday night at the weekly meeting of the Covington Board of Commissioners, which heard a proposal for a five-year 1 percent payroll tax incentive for the company.
“This incentive is an investment that will have huge payback - the City expects to realize $4 for every $1 of foregone revenue,” West said.
After expressing favorable comments, the Commission moved the proposal to its consent agenda to be voted on next Tuesday.
Hilltop President Kevin Sheehan said the new office space made sense economically, aesthetically and practically.
“We look forward to moving into our new headquarters in Covington, which will give us an attractive, professional home for our employees and customers. It’s a nice bonus that Hilltop products helped build the RiverCenter office complex,” Sheehan said. “Hilltop has always had a regional footprint, with clients, operations and projects in Ohio, Kentucky, and Indiana. We loved having our headquarters in Cincinnati and look forward to enjoying our new Covington location, too.”
Sheehan noted that Hilltop’s headquarters move was prompted by the conversion to apartments from offices at its current home, the Fourth and Vine Tower in Cincinnati.
Hilltop has 240 employees at its operations around the Tristate and serves clients in five states as the leading supplier of aggregates and ready-mix concrete.
The regional economic development organization Northern Kentucky Tri-ED, which helped bring the company and the City together, expressed appreciation for Hilltop’s decision to locate in Covington.
“We're happy we were able to work with Hilltop Basic Resources and keep its headquarters in the urban core in the Cincinnati region,” said Tri-ED President & CEO Lee Crume. “Hilltop’s headquarters are an ideal fit for Corporex’s Towers of RiverCenter, and we welcome the company to Northern Kentucky.”
Covington’s momentum
Hilltop’s move continues a string of recent economic development announcements in Covington, West pointed out. Others include:
- A $7 million project led by computer firms ReGadget and Blair Technology Group that will transform the Latonia Plaza II shopping center from empty “big boxes” into a modern work space and move or create about 80 new jobs in Covington.
- An $8 million deal that will attract the Northern Kentucky headquarters of Rumpke Waste & Recycling, 50 jobs, and a new transfer station in Latonia.
- A $22.5 million plan to turn the former YMCA and Gateway Bookstore buildings at Pike & Madison into an addition to Hotel Covington, office space, and a “bourbon distillery experience.”
- First Financial Bancorp.’s purchase of 601 Madison for its Northern Kentucky headquarters and next-generation Innovation Center.
- The $11.3 million expansion of the historic Monarch Building on Fourth Street into the new home of DBL Law, Northern Kentucky’s largest law firm, bringing 70 to 80 jobs.
- The $4.9 million renovation of the largely vacant Republic Bank Building at 535 Madison into Class A office space with a rooftop bar, creating about 60 new jobs.
- The $2.7 million move from Pennsylvania of the corporate HQ of IT staffing technology firm Gentis Solutions, bringing or eventually creating 275 jobs.
- The $4.5 expansion and move to the riverfront of fast-growing technology engineering firm STEP CG, retaining 25 jobs and eventually creating 52 more.
- Fidelity Investments’ expansion of approximately 200 new jobs at its Covington campus.
- Icon Marketing’s new $4.13 million headquarters with 46 new jobs.
- The $1.4 million new investment in ROAD iD headquarters.
“Even as we continue to help our small businesses survive the pandemic, Covington is working with the business community and an array of partners to strengthen the local economy and create jobs and investment,” Mayor Joe Meyer said. “It’s exciting to see and experience.”
# # #