The R.C. Durr Foundation is joining a host of other Northern Kentucky-based institutional investors backing SparkHaus.
The charitable organization, named for the late philanthropist R.C. Durr, announced it was investing $250,000 in SparkHaus, a project that will transform the vacant Simms Furniture building at 727 Madison Ave. in Covington into an entrepreneurial hub for NKY.
“We are pleased to join the growing list of investors who recognize the critical need to help fuel more Northern Kentucky success stories,” Durr Foundation President Wilbert Ziegler said in a press release.
SparkHaus will offer office space to startups, venture capital firms and regional entrepreneurial support organizations. The building has an indoor footprint of 47,000 square feet, 39,000 of which can accommodate rent-paying office space.
Blue North, NKY’s primary entrepreneurial advocacy and resource organization, will move its headquarters into the building upon completion. Other firms, such as Covington-based eGateway Capital, will also relocate to SparkHaus.
The Durr Foundation joins the likes of the Carol Ann & Ralph V. Haile Jr. Foundation, Drees Homes Foundation, Ried Schott, Corporex Cos., the St. Elizabeth Foundation, the Milburn Family Foundation, the Duke Energy Urban Revitalization Initiative, Fischer Homes and John Cain as SparkHaus investors.
“R.C. Durr was a phenomenal example of the power of entrepreneurship,” Kenton County Judge/Executive Kris Knochelmann said in a press release. “Our hope is to give those who might be inspired by his legacy the platform and resources in SparkHaus they need to create Northern Kentucky’s next great company, so they, too, can go on to have the long-lasting community impact of R.C. Durr.”
Other financing for the project includes:
- The Catalytic Fund is financing $2.5 million for the project’s construction.
- Kentucky General Assembly doled out $6 million to the project after the most recent budget.
- NKY Port deployed $3 million from Kenton County’s state-backed site development fund.
- Kentucky Heritage Council approved up to $2.04 million in Kentucky Historic Rehabilitation Tax Credits for the conversion of the space
According to a Kenton County press release, the project is anticipated to cost $17 million. The project is currently under construction. The NKY Port Authority, Kenton County, and the Catalytic Fund hosted a construction kickoff celebration in September. The SparkHaus website states that the building should be open by July 2025.