Kenton County selected a contractor for the parking garage set to be constructed on the site of the county Government Center at 1840 Simon Kenton Way in Covington.
On Tuesday, the Kenton County Fiscal Court voted to accept the proposal from Cincinnati-based firm Dugan & Meyers, which was selected from a field of three. Messer Construction and Prus Construction also submitted proposals. Dugan & Meyers’ proposal was discussed and confirmed by the Kenton County Selection Committee.
“After sifting through those, we found that they were relatively close, but the differentiator was really sitting down with Dugan and Myers and Messer and going through their proposal via interviews,” Kenton County Administrator Joe Shriver said.
The garage will accommodate as many as 250 vehicles, according to a conceptual design released earlier this year by Gresham Smith — the architecture firm responsible for the garage’s design. Their proposal outlined three main components of the project: building a new parking structure, reconfiguring the west site access and parking, and redeveloping the site’s north pedestrian/vehicle corridor.
The garage will be located behind the Government Center, with much of it being below ground level. Additionally, a weather-protected connector will be constructed between the parking garage and the Government Center. There are also future plans for a residential building to be potentially built on top of the garage.
In September, Kenton County and the Commonwealth of Kentucky jointly announced that the state would contribute $15 million toward the project.
Currently, the Kenton County Government Center has a surface parking lot with over 100 spots in front of the building. There are also around 160 parking spots located underneath an elevated portion of Interstate Highways 71 and 75 between W. Pike Street and Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard that county employees use.
Once construction on the $3.6 billion Brent Spence Bridge Corridor project commences, the parking spaces underneath the highway will be eliminated.
Upon completion, the garage will expand the Government Center’s parking capabilities.
“By relocating the Kenton County parking garage, we are freeing up an area needed for this crucial project and saving millions of dollars in the process because of less construction costs,” Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear said in September. “This is a win-win for this community and all of Northern Kentucky.”
Kenton County Judge/Executive Kris Knochelmann told LINK nky in September that the project is set to be completed in 2025.
