The Northern Kentucky Port Authority has decided to apply for state grant funding to help bankroll work at the old Duro Bag and C&O Roundhouse in Covington. The Port Authority’s Board of Directors voted to seek the funding at their meeting on Tuesday.
If granted, the funding would come from the Kentucky Product Development Initiative, a state program aimed at helping publicly-owned buildings become viable for economic development. The program has $25 million allocated for the current fiscal year.
The Port Authority is still working to determine what work would be eligible for the grant at the old site. The deadline for applying for the money is Sept. 4, and Executive Director Christine Russell sought approval from the board of directors this month to ensure the agency didn’t miss its opportunity.
“We have been working on what eligible work could be needed there that might help advance the property and make it more attractive to developers or provide additional information to developers,” Russell said. “To that end, we have fast tracked both an asbestos survey and structural assessment of the property, thinking that if abatement is actually needed or any structural repairs are needed, that that might be eligible work for this grant.”
Russell said the port believes it will hear back about the grant sometime in January, but she was still working to verify an exact time frame at the meeting on Tuesday.
