Renaissance Covington, a nonprofit focused on revitalizing the urban core, won a 2017 Great American Main Street Award from the National Main Street Center Inc.
The organization was recognized for its creative public space projects and strong investment in Covington.
“Renaissance Covington has made a strong statement that with creativity, small cities can provide rich, joyful life for its people while keeping up with modern trends and needs,” said Patrice Frey, president and CEO of the National Main Street Center Inc.
The award was presented at the National Main Street Conference held in Pittsburg. Representatives of the organization were on hand to accept it.
Renaissance Covington has been based downtown since 2003. It brought Curb’d, small parklets in parking places, Art off Pike, and creative placemaking projects to the urban core.
“The resurgence of downtown Covington has been a long time in the making —the achievements were made by a deeply bonded community,” said Katie Meyer, executive director of Renaissance Covington.
The city’s use of public art and creative placemaking were cited in the award.
“The community has truly embraced street art and creative placemaking as compliments to the design elements of the historic architecture,” Meyer said. “Our community embraces this creativity and as a result, we not only have a truly walkable downtown, we have seen an influx of development, businesses, and residents.”
