A Northern Kentucky-based commercial facility service provider just debuted its new headquarters in one of Covington’s most historic buildings.
City Wide Facility Solutions, a company that provides janitorial, maintenance, painting and pest control to regional businesses, moved into the vacant Covington Station on March 19. It’s prior headquarters were in Fort Mitchell. The new office houses the company’s full-time management, administrative and direct sales staff.
The City of Covington hosted a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Wednesday to mark the company’s relocation. In attendance were company employees, city staff, and representatives from the Northern Kentucky Chamber of Commerce.
“City Wide is a great company,” said NKY Chamber of Commerce President Brent Cooper. “We’re so blessed to have them.”
Covington Station was previously occupied by architecture firm Hub + Weber and Wurz Financial Services. Both companies’ leases ended in August.
The property includes a 47-space parking lot, brick paved front drive, four bay windows that let in natural light, a red tile roof, four ionic style terra-cotta columns and a glass and metal canopy.
The 6,853-square-foot, two-story Classical Revival-style train depot was constructed in 1922 by the Chesapeake & Ohio Railroad to serve both the C&O and Louisville & Nashville railroads. It was Covington’s primary rail station until it closed in the 1960s after ridership declined due to the popularity of car travel.
After its closure, the building deteriorated from disuse and was eventually scheduled for demolition. In 1989, Edgewood-based Places by Keystone purchased it, saving it from demolition. The developer converted the building into four separate office spaces.
Covington Station went on the market last June when real estate firm Comey & Shepherd listed the property for $1.35 million. After several months, City Wide purchased the building for $1.375 million on Dec. 4, according to city documents.
“The City Wide family was excited about the new office and the opportunity to call Covington and Covington Station home,” said CEO and President Brent Degenhardt. “The building itself is a landmark city wide hopes to carry on Covington Station’s legacy of enriching the lives of those within our communities.”
To entice City Wide to relocate to Covington, the city doled out a jobs development incentive.
The incentive would require the company to create at least 31 new jobs and about $1.8 million in new payroll during the first year past the incentive’s activation date of Jan. 1, 2025. If City Wide meets the incentive benchmarks, it is eligible for a reduced payroll tax rate of 1%, which it can maintain for the first five years of the incentive period.
Covington grants a reduced payroll tax rate over a period of time to companies looking to relocate into the city. A company can qualify by providing a minimum number of jobs during a specified time period with a minimum amount of payroll.
Covington Vice Mayor Ron Washington commented on the incentive package, touting the city’s economic development team for its work.
“I will say this: our economic development team helped you here, and you took advantage of our payroll tax program, which, you know, it is a win-win for our community,” said Washington.