The City of Covington will receive a $1.8 million federal grant to support infrastructure design for the redevelopment of the former IRS site in the city’s central riverfront area.
The funding was announced this week by U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina M. Raimondo and comes from that department’s Economic Development Administration (EDA).
The 23-acre site, formerly home to an IRS processing center, is poised to become home to a massive mixed-use redevelopment. Demolition of the one-story “flat top” building that employed thousands in Covington over the decades is underway.
The federal investment will be matched by $449,027 in local funds, an announcement said.
City of Covington spokesperson Dan Hassert told LINK nky that the grant will be used to help pay for architectural and design work on the site’s horizontal infrastructure, which consists of all the foundation for development, including restoration of the original street grid that was eliminated in the 1960s when the city assembled 161 parcels of land and sold them to the federal government for one dollar to make way for the IRS site.
Other horizontal infrastructure includes sidewalks, water, sanitary and storm sewers, gas and electric, telecommunications, and parking, Hassert said.
An architectural and design firm is expected to be hired soon, Hassert said.
“This grant is another critical piece in a network of funding that will wind up including local, state, and federal sources, as well as private capital,” City Manager Ken Smith said in a statement. “We’re moving full speed ahead on preparing the site for the buildings that will go on it, and we want to do so in a comprehensive, holistic way that not only ties the site together but also weaves it into the surrounding neighborhoods and business districts and the Ohio River itself.”
The funding is part of the federal American Rescue Plan, pushed by President Biden last year and signed into law after approval in Congress.
“President Biden’s American Rescue Plan helps communities tackle the economic challenges that were exacerbated by the coronavirus pandemic,” said Secretary Raimondo, in a statement. “This EDA investment will support business expansion in Covington, creating jobs in the region and promoting economic resiliency.”
“The Economic Development Administration is pleased to support locally-driven strategies to boost business recovery efforts in Kentucky,” said Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Economic Development Alejandra Y. Castillo, in an announcement. “This EDA investment will provide the infrastructure design work needed to repurpose a prime site located in Covington’s commercial business district.”
“The economic impact that Covington has in Northern Kentucky, and Kentucky as a whole, is immense,” said Governor Andy Beshear, in an announcement. “To ensure that we turn these two years of economic progress into 20 years of prosperity, we must invest in our infrastructure – for companies looking to locate or expand in the commonwealth, but also for our families who live here. By working together, we will build a better Kentucky for generations to come.”
This project was made possible by the regional planning efforts led by the Northern Kentucky Area Development District (NKADD), the announcement said. EDA funds NKADD to bring together the public and private sectors to create an economic development roadmap to strengthen the regional economy, support private capital investment and create jobs, the news release said.
