By Mark Hansel
NKyTribune managing editor
The official groundbreaking for the new Kenton County Administration Building, to be built on the former Bavarian Brewery site in Covington, took place Monday afternoon.
Kenton County Judge/Executive Kris Knochelmann at Monday’s groundbreaking. Knochelmann praised the collaborative effort that made the development of the new administration building possible (photos by Mark Hansel). Click to enlarge.
Kenton County Judge/Executive Kris Knochelmann was joined by members of the Fiscal Court and other elected officials, as well as community stakeholders from throughout Northern Kentucky.
“On behalf of the entire Kenton County Fiscal Court, I want to thank you and welcome you to this huge event,” Knochelmann said. “About 50 years ago, the groundbreaking probably occurred for the existing County Administration Courthouse. Our hope is that whatever we do here in the next year sets us up for at least maybe 75 years before the next groundbreaking.”
Almost three years ago, county officials began examining what it would take to renovate the existing administration building at 303 Court Street.
It was estimated that it would cost about $22 million for the county to make the extensive renovations needed to update the structure.
Even with renovations, the building was not a good long-term fit. There was no onsite parking and half of the structure remains unoccupied.
The county began negotiating for the Bavarian site on Martin Luther King Boulevard in the Twelfth Street corridor, just east of Interstate 75. The building most recently housed the Jillian’s night club, but has been largely vacant for years.
A rendering of the new Kenton County Administration Building (provided). Click to enlarge.
The county purchased the Bavarian site for $4.5 million from the property’s owners, Columbia Sussex, and reached a $24.9 million development agreement with a team led by Turner Construction Company. Other members of the development team include Brandstetter Carroll Inc., SFA Architects Inc., THP Limited Inc., Al Neyer and Urban Sites to develop the Bavarian site.
“We have been through this past year of vetting contractors, teams…and Turner came out on top,” Knochelmann said. “What’s unique is that if this past year is any indication of working with (this team), we are going to end up celebrating in January of 2019 with a Courthouse and County Administration Building that we are all going to be proud of.”
For more detailed information on the new site, and the process that led to its selection, click here.
The move to the new administration site will also allow two buildings to go back on the tax rolls.
The agreement with the Turner Construction team calls for the 303 Court Street building to be renovated for use primarily as residential units, with some commercial space. Planning and Development Services of Kenton County (PDS) will also moves its operation to the new site and its current building on Royal Drive in Fort Mitchell will be marketed to the private sector.
Knochelmann praised county commissioners, Jon Draud, Beth Sewell and Joe Nienaber, for their support of the project.
The Bavarian Brewing Company site is being prepared for construction that will transform it into the new Kenton County Administration Building.
“This new administration building has been no small task and actually it doesn’t work without cooperation,” I just cannot tell you how proud I am to be a member of this Fiscal Court. All four of us are very different, very unique in our opinions, but we work together to move the county forward.”
Nienaber praised the previous administrations that helped set the stage for the project and expressed confidence in the county’s future leaders.
“What we do is important, but who we are is not,” Nienaber said. “There will be somebody after us who will come in and occupy this building. It’s not ours, it’s the citizens of Kenton County’s building and I think we did a pretty good job of putting your money into something that you can be proud of that’s going to last quite a while and operate efficiently. ”
The Bavarian Brewing Company operated at the site from the 1870s until the 1960s. The building remained primarily vacant until Ken Lewis bought the property in 1996 and opened Brew Works. Millions of dollars was invested in the property, which later became Jillian’s.
Jillian’s closed in 2006 and the property was sold to Columbia Sussex in 2008.
Three of the buildings at the site will be torn down, but the old tower from the Bavarian Building will remain.
Sewell said some expressed the opinion that the Bavarian site should remain privately-owned and on the tax rolls.
A large crowd of elected officials and community stakeholders from throughout Northern Kentucky were on hand for Monday’s groundbreaking.
“I kind of look on it as, where the interstate was seen as a divider of this community, that actually, we’re going to use this building as a uniter and maybe be sort of a new center to the fine city of Covington,” Sewell said. “We’re going to make this a proud entrance from the division of the Ohio River as people come over and see something beautiful. I’m just happy to be a part of that.”
Draud said the project is progressing pretty much as he and the other members of the Fiscal Court envisioned it.
“I’m thankful for the economic impact on the city of Covington for this project, as well as the current courthouse, which I think is going to be an exciting venture also,” Draud said. “I’m also thankful for a convenient place for the people of Kenton County to do their government business. I’m proud of the fact that we were able to combine the history of Bavarian Brewery and a new facility.”
The new administration building is scheduled for completion in January, 2019.
Contact Mark Hansel at mark.hansel@nkytrib.com
