Covington’s Economic Development Department recently published its annual impact report, highlighting a successful year for the city in job creation, capital investment, and small business incentives.
Some notable numbers detailed in the report include the city taking in over $44 million in private capital investment and creating over 1,000 new jobs.
“This momentum provides the solid foundation we will use to attract jobs and investment to the Covington Central Riverfront redevelopment,” Covington Economic Development Department, or CEDA, Executive Director Tom West said.
In May of last year CEDA unveiled their new branding accompanied by the slogan, “of the Cov, by the Cov, for the Cov.” The city wanted the slogan to convey their commitment to the local workforce and small businesses who have contributed to the positive economic environment in Covington.
It turned out to be good timing, as the branding will now be tied to the city’s economic accomplishments going forward, including landmark projects like the Covington Central Riverfront development.
Since the pandemic, economies around the country have dealt with a bevy of workforce-related issues. Covington has attempted to address these issues through a series of projects, such as completing and opening the Enzwelier Building Institute trade school in the Latonia Shopping Center and moving forward on opening the Covington Academy of Heritage Trades.
“Since the start of 2020, we have announced the creation of nearly 5,000 new great jobs and over $270 million in capital investment in the Cov,” West said.
Over the past year, 1,084 Covington jobs were either created or retained. That number is bolstered by the expansion of BM2 Freight Services and Keller Logistics, which resulted in the retention of over 200 jobs and the creation of more than 100.
Small businesses like AlloyFX and Arden and Gold helped the city’s labor ecosystem by relocating to Covington. The city doled out over $126,000 in small business incentives and celebrated the opening of 13 new businesses with ribbon-cutting ceremonies, including Maki Mono, Chimaek, Taylor Oswald and Pink Moon.
Perhaps the most enticing story in Covington economics is the future of the former IRS site. The Covington Central Riverfront Project, or CCR, is the development plan to transform the 23-acre plot into a vibrant mixed-use development.
In a little under a year, Cincinnati-based O’Rourke Wrecking successfully demolished the former IRS processing center leaving a blank slate of land. On the financial side of the project, $45.5 million in future tax revenue was pledged through the creation of a Tax Increment Financing district — a development incentive that uses future gains in taxes to finance public infrastructure improvements needed for the project.
While there hasn’t been any construction progress, interested parties can view what the development will look like through renderings and a flythrough video available on YouTube and CEDA’s website, thecovky.gov.
As of now, the city has hired a team of architects and engineers to design the development’s street grid, parking, and other horizontal infrastructure outlined by the city’s master plan.
Another effort that has seen progress is the plan to turn Covington into a regional hub for biotechnology. With companies like Bexion Pharmaceuticals, CTI Clinical Trial and Consulting Services, and Gravity Diagnostics in the city, CEDA has made a concerted effort to use their presence to generate investment. This seemingly paid off when the state of Kentucky allocated $15 million toward the development of a life sciences “wet” lab.
Finally, the city has committed to enhancing the gateways, or entrances, into the city. This includes beautification efforts like investing in new signage.
The Clay Wade Bailey Bridge Gateway in Covington is being redesigned based on months of community input, with Emersion Design, LLC, working on the designs that are expected to be completed in March 2023. The redesign will include solutions related to signage, streetscape layout, lighting, pedestrian amenities, and traffic-calming features.
Additionally, the city awarded the first Quality of Place Grant, which supports projects that create a “sense of place” in Covington. Over 30 ideas were submitted, with a dozen of them receiving a total of $214,425 to enhance the city’s business districts and nodes.
