The former Colonial Inn motel earned an infamous reputation as a magnet for drug and prostitution complaints, as well as a spot on the popular reality television show Cops.
The three-story building on 1515 Madison Ave., which has been a drain on Covington taxpayers, will soon be transformed into a working laboratory for the city’s new Covington Academy of Heritage Trades. The school aims to teach a new generation of construction workers the skills required to restore historic buildings back to their former glory.
“The city bought 1515 Madison in 2016, and it’s basically been a liability since then,” Economic Development Director Tom West told the Covington Board of Commissioners recently. “But we have an opportunity now to turn that liability into an asset.
On Tuesday, Nov. 15, the board will vote on two items relating to the school:
- An agreement to lease the building to the Building Industry Association of Northern Kentucky for four years on the condition that the association creates a nonprofit organization to oversee the new school and raise funds for its long-term sustainability.
- Provide the association with $250,000 from the city’s allocation of federal American Recovery Plan Act funds to be used to stabilize the building (and make it safe), give tuition scholarships to Covington residents to attend the school’s workshops, and provide them with equipment.
Besides the laboratory on Madison, the school’s main campus will be based out of the Latonia Commerce Center, formerly known as the Latonia Shopping Center, where the Enzweiler Building Institute is developing a Covington branch. The inaugural school year for the larger construction trades campus is scheduled to run from Jan. 31 to June 1, 2023, said Vicki Berling, director of Professional Development.
The laboratory will serve as a hands-on classroom, where workers can learn how to restore historic buildings. Training will focus on skills like tuckpointing old masonry, box gutters and stained-glass windows.
Eventually, the work will culminate in the transformation of the dilapidated building into office space, West said. At that point, the city would transfer ownership of the building to the school to sell, with the proceeds being reinvested back into the school.
“What better way to learn restoration trades than working on a historic building?” West said.
Introductory workshops could begin as early as February, with singularly focused workshops beginning in late spring, Berling said.
Before then, a standalone website linked to Enzweiler Building Institute’s website will be set up to further explain the curriculum and workshop options.
Tuition will be kept as low as possible, Berling said, with the help of contributions, scholarships and potential arrangements from future employers. West said Covington has documented more than 200 employers, potential donors, students, and instructors who intend to support or attend the academy.
“The number one goal is to keep the cost as affordable as possible for the average working person,” Berling said. “We’re here to train people in these desperately needed skills.”
West said the school is a workforce development priority that will:
- Increase the skills of Covington residents to secure higher-wage jobs in the construction trades.
- Promote the preservation and restoration of historic structures in a city that is more than 200 years old.
- Reduce the cost of preservation by increasing the supply of workers skilled in heritage trades.
- Help the industry meet growing workforce demands amid a shortage of skilled labor.
Builders and contractors – many of whom say that labor shortage is causing schedules to be delayed and projects to be drawn out – say they can’t wait.
“We’re completely rallying around the Academy of Heritage Trades,” said Collin Boucher, who does recruiting and hiring for Manning Contracting and thus is always looking for skilled workers to help with reuse and preservation work. “In general, there’s a lack of labor – specifically in construction – from carpenters all the way to project executives and superintendents.”
Curriculum for the school was created with feedback from local contractors and builders, advice from the Kentucky Heritage Council, and expertise of consultant Bob Yapp of Preservation Resources USA. Yapp operates a similar school in Missouri and is viewed as the nation’s foremost expert on such programs.
The collaborative effort was funded by state grants sought and received by the city. The partnership with the Kentucky Heritage Council will continue as two additional grants have been awarded – one to assist in the hiring of instructors and a second to assist with getting the various credentials certified by state education officials.
Initially, the school will teach a variety of trades and skills:
- Preservation masonry.
- Wood and steel window restoration and weatherization.
- Plaster repair.
- Preservation carpentry.
- Wood floor repair and restoration.
- Painting historic properties.
- Stained glass repair and restoration.
- Box gutter repair and restoration.
- And separate workshops for HVAC, plumbing, and electrical systems in old and historic buildings.
Potential types of students, with workshops perhaps tailored to each, include:
- Unskilled, under-served people looking to be employed in the field.
- Skilled or unskilled people wanting to start a restoration-based business.
- Existing small contractors who want to add restoration to their portfolio of work.
- Current employees of contractors.
The school will be workshop-based and taught by professionals. The number of hours required to obtain a Certificate of Competency in a particular restoration skill or trade will vary. There will also be separate levels depending on whether the student is currently a skilled worker.
For example, a historic masonry certificate for an unskilled worker could require 216 hours, while a skilled worker needing to expand their knowledge to include the historic aspect of masonry could need only 112 hours. Likewise, a workshop that focused on box gutters could require 136 hours and 120 hours.
Berling said the introductory three-day workshops would help students decide which trade they wanted to pursue.
“At that point, we hope that they’re able to focus on a plan and narrow their training and schooling,” Berling said.
