Northern Kentucky actually surpassed projections for jobs and growth in 2020 despite the pandemic, according to Northern Kentucky Tri-ED.
Kenton, Campbell and Boone counties each contributed to that growth in their own particular ways.
At last week’s monthly Eggs ‘N Issues event, Kenton County Community Development Manager Josh Wice, Campbell County Economic and Community Development Director Justin Otto and Boone County Administrator Jeff Earlywine all updated the Northern Kentucky business community on the economic happenings of all three counties.
All three panelists acknowledged the various elected and appointed leaders throughout each Northern Kentucky community for contributing to the region’s economic development.
When asked if there was any economic competition between the three counties, Earlywine said, “I think we all recognize and understand that a win for one county is a win for the region. We’re not competing against each other. Our competition is up in Columbus, Indianapolis and Nashville.”
Kenton County
In Kenton County, Wice highlighted how Covington has changed over the past decade, noting the potential of mixed-use development projects like the Covington Central Riverfront.
“Mayor Joe Meyer is really taking a visionary and proactive approach with Covington Central Riverfront, formerly the IRS site,” Wice said.
In Fort Mitchell, the Drawbridge Inn development site is finally seeing activity. First announced nearly a decade ago, the project was initially planned to be an upscale mixed-use development located at the former Drawbridge Inn and Convention Center along I-71/75.
Last June, Brandicorp LLC, the developer behind the project, announced it was moving forward, opting to build a continuing care retirement community that’s anchored by a $200 million first phase.
Wice said the county is focused on “site readiness” in rural, southern Kenton County. Site readiness assesses a property’s industrial development or redevelopment potential based on infrastructure compatibility and proximity and working with consultants to recommend mitigating site weaknesses. This allows companies looking to expand or relocate to the county to find suitable investment plots.
One such example of this is the 48-acre Walton Farms South location, which has close proximity to I-71/75. According to Northern Kentucky Tri-ED, the site could accommodate a 220,000-square-foot building.
Boone County
From Earlywine’s perspective, economic development in Boone County is “looking up” with development, both industrial and residential, driving growth in the county.
“Things are going well,” Earlywine said. “I think if we look back on the last several years, we’ve done a really nice variety of industrial, commercial, residential developments.”
Earlywine said industrial development in Boone County was going strong for the past five years until it stalled in the middle of 2021 due to company’s fearing uncertainty surrounding interest rate hikes and the rising cost of building materials.
On the residential side, Boone County has seen the amount of single family residential building permits keeping pace with the levels that were seen over the past three to four years, Earlywine said.
However, he noted the current levels single family residential building permits were far below those 20 years ago, illustrating how much the county’s housing market has changed in conjunction with its economy.
One problem homebuilders are running into is the pool of skilled labor available to them.
“We hear from home builders that had more people more skilled labor, they can build more houses,” Earlywine said.
This isn’t a problem specific to Boone County, but rather the region as a whole.
“I will say though that talent and workforce, it is an issue across the country,” Wice said. “There’s not one region that is not grappling with that issue. Anything that we can do proactively to set us apart from the other regions, that’s going to be a positive to close projects.”
Finally, Boone County is amid many infrastructure projects, such as expanding high-speed internet throughout the entire county, also taking place in Boone and Kenton counties. Many transportation infrastructure projects are underway, like the I-75/KY 536 Interchange and I-75/KY 338 Interchange.
“I think the county is going to be well positioned for more growth in the future,” Earlywine said.
Campbell County
When speaking about Campbell County, Otto first mentioned the Ovation project in Newport. The $1 billion development features a Homewood Suites Hotel, five-story office building, luxury condos and a concert venue.
Newport on the Levee recently completed their $100 million redevelopment, with Otto highlighting Uber Freight signing a lease for 20,000 square feet worth of office space in the location.
At the site of the former Beverly Hills Supper Club, Fischer Homes and Ashley Builders Group are building 60 homes at the Memorial Pointe residential community in Southgate.
In Silver Grove, New Riff Distilling is building a 10-acre barrel storage facility that will be able to house and age more than 40,000 barrels of whiskey.
Another development Otto mentioned was the $115 million Neyer Properties development that will offer an apartment building, hotel, 21 single family homes, and office and retail space.
On the commercial development side, ThermoFisher Scientific announced a $59 million expansion to their Highland Heights facility. Prysmian Group, the largest cable manufacturer in the world, unveiled a $7.2 million renovation to their North American headquarters in Highland Heights in December.
“I get really excited,” Otto said. “Like I’ve kind of gotten emotional talking about that stuff because it’s changing a place that I love and that’s also dear to my heart.”
