Covington is seeking development proposals for about 30 vacant, city-owned lots. The move is the latest development of both elected leadership’s and city professionals’ efforts to build out Covington’s housing stock in the face of the region’s broader housing shortage.
City Manager Sharmili Reddy announced the city was seeking proposals at the meeting of the Covington Board of Commissioners on Tuesday, saying the point was to “create a pipeline for income-aligned in Covington.” The requests for proposals were released Wednesday.
“It’s no secret that people need a place to live,” said Covington Mayor Ron Washington. “There’s not enough affordable places. We’ve got our little slice of the pie, and we’re going to do something with it.”
The following lots are included in the proposal requests:
- 866, 867, and 871-73-77 Western Ave.
- 1614 May St.
- 2018 Greenup St.
- 20 W. 15th St.
- 407 Byrd St.
- 310 Berry St.
- 1213 Garrard St.
- 216 Trevor St.
- 330 E. Martin Luther King Jr. St.
- 402 and 404 E. 11th St.
- 1225 and 1227 Banklick St.
- 110 Pleasant St. and 1318 Scott St. (must be combined)
- 1215 Pike St.
- 706-10 W. 12th St.
- 1114 and 1122 Forest Ave.
- 952 Western Ave.
- 826 and 830 Crescent Ave.
- 2719 Madison Ave.
- 18th St. W and 308 W. 18th St. (must be combined)
- 205 W. 15th St.
- 2309 Herman St.
- 1012 Greenup St.
Conventional developers, nonprofit organizations and other institutions are invited to submit proposals. Priority will be given to projects that provide affordable and workforce housing options, according to a city press release. In this context, “affordable” housing means housing available to households earning at or below 80% of the area median income. “Workforce” housing means housing available to households earning at or below 120% of the area median income, based on HUD’s HOME AMI limits for Kenton County.
Proposals are due June 4. You can get more information and read the proposal requests at the city’s online procurement portal. The requests in question are labeled as “Surplus Real Property Sales For Housing Development Purposes” with the June 4 due date.