This massing model is NOT a rendering. But it gives a conceptual illustration of how the individual project would look in relation to itself and how it would fit in with the surrounding area.
Expected $228K a year tax gain will fund services in the rest of Covington
COVINGTON, Ky. – The pieces of the 23-acre Covington Central Riverfront neighborhood continue to fall into place.
The newest piece?
A $67.2 million development that will bring to Covington an estimated 257 market-rate apartments, 7,700 square feet of retail space, and 194 parking spaces in a partially below-grade parking structure. The current massing model for the 1.3-acre project – which sits on the southeastern portion of the overall CCR site – calls for two buildings divided by a public alley running east-west for use by both pedestrians and vehicles.
To get the project under way, the Covington Board of Commissioners on Tuesday night approved an agreement with Silverman and Company Inc. in which the developer will buy two of the CCR parcels – labeled blocks M and N – for a combined $2.6 million.
“This development is so exciting for us in many ways,” Economic Development Director Tom West said. “It continues the momentum building around this great new neighborhood in The Cov. It is being built by a local developer who knows and respects the community. And, it gives confidence to other developers that the City is serious about creating opportunities for all types of housing, businesses, and public spaces.”
West praised Silverman’s familiarity with the Covington community, its embrace of the City’s development objectives for the overall 23 acres, and its willingness to work with the City to adjust design elements to complement those objectives.
West noted that the City is not offering traditional incentives – such as tax breaks – for the project but is instead prepping the site by building horizontal infrastructure, including streets, sidewalks, and utilities across the whole 23 acres. He said that Silverman’s mixed-use development is projected to bring $228,000 a year in new tax revenue that will help pay for City services across Covington.
Members of the Covington Commission thanked the company for their investment in the city and the CCR site before voting 5-0 to approve the agreement.
Silverman executives said they couldn’t wait to get started on the project and in particular integrating it into the rest of Covington.
“The CCR is an incredibly exciting opportunity, and the City has created a robust, yet thoughtful, live/work/play vision for the site that is going to translate into another terrific Covington neighborhood,” Silverman Vice President Ryan Silverman said.
“We look forward to playing a role in its development by bringing a new, fully amenitized living experience to a location that will yield high levels of walkability to not only the entire CCR, but to other existing neighborhoods as well,” he said. “The retail/restaurant space that will be included within our development will provide local restaurants and retailers with an opportunity to open new concepts along 3rd Street, which will be the primary east-west road running through the heart of the CCR.”
Silverman and Company was founded in 1984 and specializes in the development, construction, leasing and management of office, multi-family and retail properties throughout the Greater Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky region. Company officials said its integrated approach ensures high-quality developments and responsive property management.
It said its partners in the Covington development would be Messer Construction as general contractor, KZF Design Inc. as architect, and Bayer Becker as civil engineer.
Silverman said the amenities at the apartments will include on-site leasing/management offices, a co-working hub, pet spa, resident lounge, gaming lounge, state-of-the-art fitness center, and a rooftop amenity package including pool, outdoor gathering space, fire pits and outdoor kitchen.
Construction is to begin within 120 days of the closing, which is expected in the first quarter of 2025 with a groundbreaking likely held next spring, the developer said. Construction could take as little as 18 months.
Silverman said it would share architectural renderings once it receives approval from the City’s design review process. The attached massing model simply gives a conceptual illustration of how the individual project would look in relation to itself and fit in with the surrounding area.
And that integration is key, the developer said.
“Covington is a city of great little neighborhoods,” said Tim Burgoyne, Director of Site Acquisition and Development. “The redevelopment of this riverfront area will surely propel the City forward while creating another great neighborhood that will serve the citizens of Covington for decades to come. Being able to play a small role in the CCR’s development is exciting for us. We are thankful for the opportunity and look forward to a long and positive relationship with the City of Covington.”
The blocks M-N announcement follows other CCR-related announcements this spring.
- Bray Construction Services broke ground April 1 on Phase 1 of public infrastructure at the site, a $14.9 million contract that will include streets, sidewalks, utilities, and a public plaza. That work is continuing.
- The City also hired Terracon Consultants to do geotechnical oversight and testing.
- To enable infrastructure work to begin, Covington leaders approved an $18.1 million bond anticipation note, a financing mechanism that represents a short-term bridge to a longer-term bond debt.
- The Commission in late March approved its first development agreement, with Drees Homes, to build 16 townhomes. That $7 million project will go on block B, a 0.88-acre parcel fronting Fourth Street just east of Russell Street.
- And the Kentucky General Assembly allocated two pots of money for CCR: $10 million to the City for infrastructure work and $125 million toward the relocation to the site of the Salmon P. Chase School of Law and the Northern Kentucky campus of the University of Kentucky’s four-year School of Medicine. That latter allocation is being funneled to the Kenton County Fiscal Court and the Northern Kentucky Port Authority.
More about those announcements can be read at “Come Monday, CCR work moves from deconstruction to construction.”
The 23-acre site, located just west of Madison Avenue and north of Fourth Street, was home to a sprawling one-story IRS tax-processing facility for more than five decades. As told in a 2020 City of Covington news release titled “$1 grows to $20.5 million,” the City had assembled the site from 161 properties in its aggressive attempt to woo the federal government.
The attempt successful, the processing facility opened May 15, 1967, and would employ about 4,000 full-time and seasonal workers during its heyday. But the facility was decommissioned in 2019, the City bought the site in 2020, and the building was demolished by O’Rourke Wrecking in 2022.
During that time, the City worked with the public and Atlanta-based consultant Cooper Carry to create a conceptual master plan for a mixed-use site seamlessly integrated into the surrounding commercial and residential districts. It also worked to address environmental and archaeological concerns and with an engineering and architectural team led by KZF Design to design the so-called horizontal infrastructure of the site.
More about the site and its history, as well as the City’s master plan and conceptual renderings, can be found at Covington Central Riverfront.
# # #