The City of Covington will receive a $450,000 forgivable loan from the federal government to rehabilitate a cluster of affordable housing properties in Covington’s Eastside neighborhood.
Following approval from the city commission on Tuesday, the money will fund new HVAC systems, kitchen appliance upgrades, new water heaters and new bathtubs for 25 rental units on several streets in Eastside: 8 one-bedroom units, 13 two-bedroom units and 4 three bedroom units. The money will also be used to refinance debt related to the units.
All of the units are owned by Neighborhood Investment Partners, or NIP, which is officially an independent nonprofit but is affiliated with the city and the Housing Authority of Covington. Its directors are appointed by the mayor.
“The point of this is to continue our capacity building for NIP so that we can ramp up their ability to provide and preserve affordable housing,” said Community Development Manager Jeremy Wallace at the caucus meeting on Oct. 1.
The units are currently occupied and receive federal rental subsidies.
Our region, according to a housing strategies report released in 2025, lacks sufficient housing for young adults forming their first household; for essential workers like nurses, teachers and first responders; and for older adults. A teacher with a median annual income of $43,740, for example, can afford only 26% of the rental and 16% of the for-sale housing in the region, according to the report. For a restaurant server, only 1% of the region’s rental housing is affordable.
An older person relying on Social Security can also afford only 1% of rental housing in the region, according to the report.
The report, called Home for All: Northern Kentucky Housing Strategies, came to be thanks to more than 90 leaders and experts from across NKY who spent hours studying the region and its urgent housing challenge. Their goal was to close the housing gap across income levels and provide a place for everyone.
Click here to learn more about the shortage and how NKY leaders and community members are stepping in to find solutions.
Understanding NKY’s housing shortage
The HOME program is a federal program focused on housing and has been used to fund rental assistance programs, home repair programs and housing nonprofits like Neighborhood Investment Partners. It also funds the local HOME Consortium, which provides forgivable loans to qualifying home buyers. Covington, Independence, Erlanger, Florence, Ludlow, Newport, Bellevue and Dayton are member cities in the consortium.
Construction is set to commence later this month and extend through the end of September 2025.
The city has flexibility in its forgiveness structure as long as the buildings remain in federal compliance regarding affordable housing and conform to local code regulations.
