- Leaders broke ground on the new Commonwealth Center for Biomedical Excellence Thursday.
- The center will see the relocation of Chase Law School and the NKU branch of the UK College of Medicine to Covington.
- Although the project has garnered some criticism, leaders at the event were generally optimistic.
Local and regional leaders broke ground on the new Commonwealth Center for Biomedical Excellence Thursday.
Located on East Rivercenter Boulevard in Covington near the Northern Kentucky Convention Center and the Kenton County Justice Center, the biomedical center will see the relocation of NKU’s Chase Law School to its original city of Covington, where it was located from 1972 to 1981. Moreover, the center will host the local branch of the UK College of Medicine.
“We are thrilled to put shovels in the ground and transform this parking lot into a world-class facility for the NKU Salmon P. Chase College of Law and University of Kentucky Medical School–Northern Kentucky campus,” said Christine Russell, executive director of the Northern Kentucky Port Authority, which owns the land. “Northern Kentucky’s future doctors and lawyers will be educated at the Commonwealth Center in the heart of the region’s life sciences and legal community.”
The Kentucky General Assembly injected $125 million of state money into the project in 2024 to get it off the ground. The relocation of the law school and medical school will bring the two programs closer to the region’s urban core and allow the medical school to expand its Northern Kentucky campus enrollment by 40%, according to a press release from the Port Authority earlier this year.
“By bringing together law, medicine, research and innovation in the heart of Covington, we’re creating new opportunities for students while helping strengthen the talent pipeline and economic vitality of Northern Kentucky,” said NKU President Cady Short-Thompson.
A design build team for the center was selected earlier this year, and the Kenton County Planning Commission approved a public facility review for the center last month. The center’s potential effect on parking and traffic has emerged as a concern among some of the community, and others have expressed criticism of how officials went about lobbying for the schools’ relocation.
The state and local leaders at Thursday’s event, however, were generally optimistic.
“The relocation of the Northern Kentucky University Salmon P. Chase College of Law and the University of Kentucky College of Medicine to Covington strengthens our position as a center for education, innovation and economic opportunity,” said Covington Mayor Ron Washington. “I am proud to know that many of the next generation of doctors and lawyers who will serve communities across the commonwealth will have received their education right here in Covington.”
“This project has been a challenging endeavor, but today is a testament to what can happen when people set aside all of their individual interests and work cooperatively to create lasting opportunities for Kentuckians,” said Kentucky Sen. Chris McDaniel, a Republican from Ryland Heights and chair of the Kentucky Senate Budget Committee.
Construction of the center is expected to be completed by the end of 2028.
