Get a sneak peek of the proposed Covington Central Riverfront development

The Central Riverfront development site in Covington, which formerly housed the old IRS building, likely has a new developer: Covington Pointe Joint Venture, which wants to build 10 single-family detached homes and two mixed-use buildings on the site.

The Covington City Commission heard the proposal at their meeting on Tuesday and will vote on whether or not to accept the proposal at the legislative meeting next week. The proposal was placed on next week’s consent agenda, meaning it will likely pass.

Covington Pointe Joint Venture is an LLC composed of the Funke Real Estate Group and its financial partners. If approved, the company would be the third developer to secure an agreement with the city for the riverfront.

Jodi Funke, developer, real estate broker and founder of Funke Real Estate Group, attended Tuesday’s meeting. Funke’s company is Covington-based, and she’s even a graduate of Aviatra, a Covington-based women’s start-up incubator.

“Jodi is the first woman-owned developer at [the Central Riverfront site],” said Covington’s Economic Development Director Tom West. “In fact, she’s the first woman-owned developer that we’ve done a major development deal with since I’ve been here in Covington in the last seven years.”

Covington Pointe Joint Venture proposes purchasing just under an acre of land from the city on the site’s A block, which runs along 4th Street, for $1.44 million. If approved, the developer would pay half upon closing the deal and half upon completion of the first phase of construction: one mixed-use building and two single-family homes. Construction is set to begin in May 2025, with the first homes slated for completion later that year in September.

The completed development will feature 10 single-family homes and two mixed-use buildings. The mixed-use buildings will have room for one commercial operation plus anywhere from four to eight condos.

The overall cost of the development is $8.545 million, and the city will be responsible for early filling, grading and infrastructure work. Current zoning regulations do not allow for single-family detached homes at the site, but the commission is set to vote on a zoning change next week, as well.

Funke told LINK nky she was already in talks with a potential business tenant, Cincinnati-based coffee shop Black Coffee Lounge. The deal between the developer and the company has not yet been finalized, but Funke said that this would be the company’s first location in Kentucky. Representatives from Black Coffee Lounge did not attend the meeting.

“It’s not only a coffee shop, but they have events and things like that,” Funke said. “They have speakers come in.”

Rough sale values for the detached homes, condos, and commercial buildings are $600,000, $375,000 and $250,000, respectively, according to the development proposal.

The city expects a return on investment of 6%. West’s estimates predicted the city would take in about $38,000 a year in new property and insurance premium taxes. The development will also generate about $1 million in TIF funds over the next 27 years.

“One of our goals all along was to make participation in the revitalization available to small Covington developers, and this hits that sweet spot where we have one of our own now that’s actually participating in this significant investment and economic opportunity,” said Mayor Joe Meyer. “Plus, these are single family homes. That promotes home ownership in the context of this neighborhood, which is a delight.”

“Covington Central Riverfront will be a destination where residents can live, work and play, all within one beautifully designed space,” said Funke in a written statement.

Check out some renderings of the proposed development below.