Ovation is open: development celebrates new milestones

Ovation is open—that’s the message conveyed by Newport officials and leaders in the Northern Kentucky business community on Wednesday as they stood on the plaza of the recently opened Homewood Suites hotel.

The large-scale mixed-use development, spearheaded by Covington-based real estate developer Corporex, aims to transform 25 acres along the Newport riverfront. The project kicked off in the fall of 2019, moving forward in phases. Wednesday, community leaders unveiled the addition of two new bar concepts and finished condominiums.

Market Bar, co-owned by entrepreneurs Pete Volker and Wayne Lin, is located on the plaza level of the Homewood Suites hotel. Market Bar has another location in Columbus, Ohio.

The bar will be open to hotel guests and general public patrons, offering both indoor and outdoor seating. Its menu features made-from-scratch cocktails, wines, and local crafts and domestic beers. Andrew Vecellio, VP of market development at Corporex, said Market Bar will be open by the summer.

“It’s a real honor to become part of such a vibrant, growing community,” Volker said. “It’s early, but you really can’t feel that sense of community.”

The second bar launched at Homewood Suites is High Note, a rooftop venue featuring unobstructed views of the Cincinnati skyline. High Note, which opened on Wednesday, will be open from 5 to 11 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 5 p.m. to midnight on Friday and Saturday, and 1 to 11 p.m. on Sundays.

High Note’s menu features three beers, Prosecco on tap, a full bar, and a craft cocktail menu. For food, High Note offers items like charcuterie boards and flatbreads.

“Our brand new rooftop bar is unlike anything else from a Homewood perspective, this was completely thoughtfully designed and improved in response to the energy, and vision, and opportunity of feeling this entire development,” said Jennifer Porter, president of Covington-based hotel manager Commonwealth Hotels.

Besides the bar concepts, Corporex officials touted the construction progress on The Boardwalk Residences, a three-building condominium complex built at the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers. The condominiums are being constructed on top of a large parking garage. Its name comes from the installed boardwalk that runs along the levee in front of the condominiums.

In total, the three buildings feature 88 condos, with 78% already sold, according to a Corporex press release. Construction on Building 3 is complete, with residents already moving in, while Building 2 is nearing completion. 

Building 1 started construction in 2024, but no rooms have been completed as of now. According to the release, nearly 47% of Building 1’s units have been pre-sold.

For Corporex Chief Operations Officer Brett Blackwell, Ovation is the product of two decades’ worth of perseverance.

“One thing I’d like to point out is that Ovation – this is a culmination of what we’ve tried to create here with this master development,” he said. “Over the last several months, we’ve had residents moving in at the boardwalk, so you can now live at Ovation.”