Covington is eyeing the second phase of a project to rehab the famous Frank Duveneck House and Studio in the city’s Eastside Neighborhood.
A roughly $92,000 proposal from architecture firm Merriman Anderson/Architects, a national firm with an office in Covington, to handle the work came before the Board of Commissioners on Tuesday. This will be the second major phase of the project, the first of which focused largely on the building’s structural integrity.
The building was the home of famous local artist Frank Duveneck, born in Covington in 1848. It was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2015.
The proposal that came before the board on Tuesday indicates the architectural firm would focus largely on creating design and construction documents. Accepting the proposal was placed on the consent agenda for next week’s meeting, meaning it will likely pass.
Merriman Anderson/Architects’ proposal describes the scope of the work.
“The proposed program is understood to be a gallery/event space on the first floor with required restrooms and support space,” the proposal reads. “The old studio space will be restored into a working art studio, and the second floor and attic will be an apartment unit for an artist in residence.”
You can read the full proposal and agreement slated for next week’s vote below.
The historic home was the subject of a nearly 8-year legal battle between the city and the home’s owner, The Frank Duveneck Arts and Cultural Center. The city sued the center in February 2024 in order to gain control of what the city described as a “blighted building.”
The building had numerous structural problems, most notably a large hole in the foundation. The city employed a legal tool called the “Abandoned and Blighted Property Conservatorship Act,” created in 2022, to bring an action that appoints a conservator to take possession of and undertake the rehabilitation of an abandoned or blighted building. The Kenton County Circuit Court granted the city conservatorship on Sept. 6, 2024.
