- Carlisle & Bray relocated from Covington’s RiverCenter to a custom-built 12,443-square-foot office at Newport’s Ovation, increasing its office footprint by about 50%.
- Company leaders say the move positions the marine logistics firm for future growth while keeping its operations rooted along the Ohio River.
- Carlisle & Bray becomes the third tenant in Ovation Office 1, joining MegaCorp Logistics and St. Elizabeth Healthcare’s primary care practice.
Carlisle & Bray Enterprises, one of Greater Cincinnati’s largest full-service marine logistics and operations companies, has moved its headquarters east across the Licking River.
Previously housed in Covington’s RiverCenter, Carlisle & Bray signed a lease in Newport’s Ovation complex in February. The company held a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Tuesday, July 21, to mark the move into its new office.
Carlisle & Bray’s move to the custom 12,443-square-foot space on the third floor of Ovation Office 1 gave the company an approximate 50% increase in physical office space.
“Our move to Ovation is all about the future of C&B Marine,” Carlisle & Bray Marine Partner Bryan Carlisle said in a news release. “This custom-designed, centrally located headquarters gives our team the perfect launch pad for expansion. We’ve built our legacy working along the Ohio River, and remaining right here on the riverfront in a space optimized for growth will ensure we can continue delivering top-tier maritime logistics for years to come.”
Carlisle & Bray is the third company to move into an Ovation office space, following the opening of a St. Elizabeth Healthcare Primary Care facility and of MegaCorp Logistics’ regional headquarters in 2023. Ovation’s Office 1 is a five-story, nearly 100,000-square-foot building with an attached 550-space parking garage.
Newport City Manager John Hayden said the company’s choice to establish its headquarters in the city reflects its ongoing growth.
“It’s really an exciting day for Carlisle & Bray to open up their offices here and call Newport home, and we really just appreciate it,” Hayden said.
Ovation, a nearly $1 billion mixed-use complex at the confluence of the Ohio and Licking rivers in Newport, was developed by Corporex, a Covington-based real estate investment firm. The company’s chairman, Bill Butler, attended the ribbon-cutting ceremony, where he touted Carlisle & Bray’s move into one of Corporex’s signature properties.
“The marriage of two lifelong, great old companies here — household names in our Northern Kentucky community, people who grew up here, entrepreneurs who have been successful, right here in our hometown,” Butler said. “To me, that’s pretty special when two of them come together, work together, become a team and then move into a corporate building. What could be better?”
Carlisle & Bray is the result of a 2011 merger which brought together Bray Marine, a family-owned marine transportation company, and Greater Cincinnati Marine, a maritime logistics company. Carlisle & Bray provides towing, fleeting, shifting, utility byproduct management and barge-mounted crane services primarily along the Ohio River.
The company also operates three subsidiaries–C&B Marine, C&B Energy Services, and C&B Repair & Maintenance–in addition to three public fleet facilities on the Ohio River.
