“Words to describe the change in Covington for the past five years fail me. Just walk around the city and feel the change, the vibrancy, the excitement,” Covington Mayor Joe Meyer said during his ‘State of the City’ address.
On Thursday, Meyer spoke to a crowd of Covington business leaders at the Embassy Suites for the Covington Business Council’s August luncheon.
Meyer’s message was one of satisfaction as he addressed what Covington has accomplished, and looks to accomplish, such as building a new City Hall.
“Our history, our diversity, our demographic characteristics, our architecture, size and poverty are different,” Meyer said, speaking on the differences between Covington and other Northern Kentucky cities. “The social needs we confront are different.”
Meyer was elected as the mayor of Covington in November 2016, and won reelection in 2020. He described his governing philosophy by saying a city’s government should create opportunities for its citizens, improve their quality of life, and solve problems throughout the city, “not just north of 12th Street.”
Meyer conceded that Covington does not solely control its own destiny because the decisions made by regional, state and federal governmental organizations may not always align with the preferences of the city.
“Northern Kentucky is not homogeneous, and is composed of different voices, different attitudes about matters ranging from the Brent Spence Bridge to diversity, equity and inclusion,” Meyer said.
Meyer highlighted the past turbulence surrounding the Brent Spence Bridge Corridor Project as an example of Covington’s vision not aligning with many regional and state governmental organizations.
Brent Spence Bridge Corridor Project
“The Brent Spence Bridge is one example where a voice, Covington’s voice, was not consistent with the voice of the region’s leadership,” Meyer said.
Meyer said Northern Kentucky was in a better position now because Covington city leadership did not “sit down and shut up” about its opposition to tolls as a potential funding mechanism for the mega-project. He described how he warned other regional and state governmental organizations that the large construction project could have adverse short-term effects on the region.
However, in June, the city announced a deal was reached to lessen the overall costs Covington would have to bear regarding the project. He thanked Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear and Kentucky Transportation Cabinet Secretary Jim Gray for collaborating with city leadership.
Construction on the project is set to be completed in the first quarter of 2029.
According to Meyer, the new bridge’s width will be narrowed by 40 percent, residential relocations in Covington will be reduced by 97 percent, land acquisition will be reduced by 11 acres and 25 homes will be saved along with seven businesses.
He also noted a new stormwater storage system will be built from Kyles Lane to the Ohio River in order to mitigate flooding within Covington, and an aesthetics committee will allow the community to engage on decisions relating to bridge design, and the reduction of noise and light pollution.
Meyer said he wants the project to make sure the project becomes a “true asset for the community.”
Covington Central Riverfront Project
Cincinnati-based O’Rourke Wrecking is the firm in charge of demolishing the former IRS site. The site’s demolition is set to be completed by September 30.
“All the buildings, concrete, asphalt, underground storage tanks will be removed and the site will be shovel ready,” Meyer said.
The 23-acre site is slated to be rebuilt as a large commercial and residential development dubbed the Covington Central Riverfront Project. Read LINK nky’s previous coverage about the project here.
KZF Design, an architecture firm based in Cincinnati, is the principal deed for the engineering and architectural services for the project’s horizontal infrastructure.
Meyer said Covington is taking a different approach to the development of the Covington Central Riverfront Project, as opposed to Newport’s development of Ovation and Cincinnati’s development of The Banks.
“Covington is doing it different,” Meyer said. “When Cincinnati did The Banks, they got a master developer. When Newport did Ovation, they had a master developer for the entire project. Not us. That’s not our way.”
Covington’s plan is to not opt for a master developer, and instead attempt to reverse the damage done by 1960s urban renewal, a development strategy that was implemented by the federal government to help American cities fund and develop affordable housing in blighted areas. However, it ended up displacing many people living in urban cores. The money was sometimes funneled to development projects such as shopping malls and office buildings, according to National Geographic.
“Our plan calls for the complete reversal of the 1960s urban renewal, restoring the urban grid and a more traditional approach to development,” Meyer said.
Meyer said Covington is capping the height of buildings to 3-5 stories within the development, which will allow the new buildings to reintegrate into the feel of the city and its adjoining neighborhoods.
“There are plans for single family homes, as well as apartments and mixed-use,” Meyer said. “There is room set aside for the expansion of the Convention Center and an additional hotel to serve the Convention Center.”
Covington Small Business and Housing Outlook
“The city’s financial condition is good,” Meyer said.
Meyer noted that in the past two years, Covington has announced 3,741 new jobs, approximately $143 million in private investment and filled 422,531 square feet of office space.
Meyer called small business the “lifeblood of the city” and said Covington’s small business program has assisted 155 small businesses and storefronts since 2017.
According to Meyer, Covington has more than 1,000 market-rate housing units available for both rental and homeownership, and said the assessed value of taxable real estate in Covington grew by $650 million, from $2.2 to $2.9 trillion.
Meyer also spoke on the Covington city commission proposal to reduce the property tax rate by 17 percent, which if passed, would give the city its lowest property tax rate in over 50 years.
“We’ve really moved past the catalytic growth phase for our city into an organic growth. That’s happening because of the desirability and then the market conditions,” Meyer said.
Citywide projects
To round out his presentation, Meyer highlighted the importance of current and future citywide projects such as:
- Read Ready Covington, which Meyer says has helped over 3,000 Covington children improve their literacy skills
- Covington Connect, the citywide public wi-fi program that offers free internet access to residents
- Building Industry Association of Northern Kentucky developing a trade school in Latonia Plaza to Covington residents to access to trade education.
