- The Housing Authority began soliciting proposals in June and received 10
- City Heights was the largest public housing complex in NKY. It began operating in 1953, and the final tenant moved out in 2024.
- Community feedback suggested a desire for a walk-able neighborhood and more points of entry and exit
The Housing Authority of Covington has narrowed down its list of development proposals to consider for the 76 acres of land that formerly housed City Heights.
Details on the specific proposals are not yet available for public review, but the decision marks a key development in the future of the site, which was previously a large public housing complex.
The Authority – which, in spite of its name, is its own entity and not a department within the city – had begun soliciting requests for proposals in June and received 10 proposals from a variety of developers from around the country, said Housing Authority Executive Director Steve Arlinghaus.
Aug. 1 was the submission deadline. Following an internal committee meeting on Tuesday morning, the Authority narrowed down the number of proposals to seriously consider, asking the selected requestors to provide more detailed development plans from which the Authority will make a final decision.
“We were hoping for five or six, but receiving 10 was very exciting,” Arlinghaus told the Latonia Business Association on Monday. He added at Monday’s meeting that the Authority hoped to select three proposals at Tuesday’s meeting, but he could not confirm this was, in fact, the number of proposals that would move forward on Tuesday.
The proposals were preliminary and generalized, and some of the submissions came from groups of developers, rather than singular proposers.
Arlinghaus estimated there were about “30 to 40 developers” in aggregate that had expressed interest. He said that based on the initial proposals the Authority had received, the final product was “going to be a mixture of different types of housing,” as well as some retail spaces.
“From all the feedback I seen so far and talking to other individuals, [it’s] probably going to be mostly single family homes,” Arlinghaus also said. “It could be town homes. It might be condominiums. There’ll be a fair number of apartments out there as well.”
City Heights, originally called Ida Spence Homes, began operating its 366 units in 1953. The land on which it sat spans about 76.5 acres atop a hill between Madison Pike and Highland Avenue. The complex was the largest publicly owned housing project in Northern Kentucky.
Federal authorities officially approved closing the complex in 2021. A city press release from October of that year characterized the units as “severely deteriorated, outdated, and beyond saving.” Estimates from the feds put the amount to bring the complex up to minimum standards at about $51 million. Completely refurbishing the complex up to modern standards would have run about $84 million.
Following the federal government’s OK, the Housing Authority began dispossessing the apartments and relocating the tenants to other subsidized housing throughout the city and region, a process that took about three years. The complex’s final tenant moved out last April.
“In total, eligible City Heights families received more than $270,000 in financial assistance for their moves through the agency’s relocation process, averaging between $1,100-$1,700 per family based on household size,” according to a letter penned last year by Arlinghaus. “Many families received financial assistance through federal ARPA funds, administered by the City of Covington, to pay for outstanding utility debt. In total, nearly $50,000 in ARPA funds were provided to eligible families.”
The Housing Authority contracted with Cincinnati-based business Yard and Co. to help market the site and seek public input through neighborhood meetings, community surveys and focus groups. It also sought input from the city.
Once the land is sold, all of the proceeds from the sale will be reinvested into the Housing Authority’s other properties, namely Latonia Terrace and Golden Tower, the latter of which serves largely as a form of senior housing.
The Authority sought public input from several of the nearby neighborhoods – namely, Monte Casino, Peaselburg and Pointe Benton – about what the community would like to see on the site. Several things stood out, Arlinghaus said, most notably that the neighborhoods don’t want more public housing on the hill.
“They don’t want another City Heights,” Arlinghaus said. “They don’t want subsidized housing. They don’t want high rises that’ll block their views. They want walking paths… where you can actually walk up through this whole neighborhood up there.”
The Authority also emphasized new entry and exit points onto the hill. Currently, there’s only one road, Benton Road, that leads into the complex, which is especially problematic for emergency access.
Arlinghaus said the Authority would be notifying the selected proposal writers sometime this week. Additional details about the proposals were not immediately available, but LINK nky will report more as information is released.