By Ryan Clark
NKyTribune reporter
Will there be redevelopment at 303 Court St. — and will the city lend a helping hand to get it done?
Maybe. And then again, maybe not.
Commissioners, who again gathered virtually for their regularly scheduled caucus meeting Tuesday night, listened to a possible development agreement and proposed incentives to the Court Street site, commonly known as the old County Building.
Al Neyer, LLC, and Urban Sites Capital Advisors, LLC, want to partner with the city in the redevelopment of 303 Court St. — and they want the city to issue Industrial Revenue Bonds, an associated Payment In Lieu of Taxes agreement, and a Tax Increment Finance District reimbursement related to public infrastructure improvements.
The development, located in Roebling Point, is the adaptive reuse of a 148,000-square-foot building into 133 market-rate apartments and 6,000-square-feet of retail/restaurant space.
“The building was the former administrative office for Kenton County until their move in fall 2019,” city records report. “As part of their redevelopment, the county entered into a development agreement with Al Neyer and Urban Sites to redevelop the property. The total project cost is approximately $31.4 million.”
The apartment mix will consist of 35 studios, 59 one bedroom units, and 39 two-bedroom units, starting at $1,111 and going up to $1,714 per month. The development will include 22 on-site parking spaces and the developers have secured 164 spaces in the Kenton County Parking Garage to serve the building’s parking needs.
The bottom line is the project has a funding gap of more than $8.5 million, and the developers want the city to kick in as much as possible. In this case, that would be about $1.9 million ($500,000 in the TIF grant and $1.4 million in forgone property tax over 20 years).
Commissioners were concerned over the hefty price tag, and a one-hour debate ensued.
former Kenton County building in Covington
“I want to see this project succeed,” said Commissioner Ron Washington. “But this is a very hard ask for me.”
The issue? The cost, of course. But on top of that, the issue is what the cost would do to the city’s TIF funds. There is concern that the project will not generate any money to pay the city back, and that Covington would not have any funds left if any other opportunities come along — especially when other projects like the IRS site are also taking up time and money.
“Why is this opportunity the best opportunity for this building and for us?” Commissioner Tim Downing asked.
Danny Lipson, the developer team representative, was also present at Tuesday’s virtual meeting, and he responded that the project would be a “catalyst” for growth in that neighborhood.
Lipson noted the developers’ previous work in Over-the-Rhine, as well as their past and current relationships with their tenants, to emphasize their commitment to the communities they serve. He also noted they will be creating jobs, as well as driving pedestrian traffic to the area.
Still, Downing was unconvinced. He questioned how the developer could say they were helping the community by creating apartments that most Covington residents cannot afford.
An appraisal report also detailed the project’s possible pitfalls, and concluded that the idea would ultimately need more money.
“If you guys weren’t asking for money, I’d be all for this,” Downing said.
Commissioners Shannon Smith and Michelle Williams also had concerns. Mayor Joseph U. Meyer said the idea isn’t “perfect,” but he supported it.
“I’m on the side here that this project should go forward,” he said. He then asked if any other commissioner would agree to put the topic on the agenda for next week to discuss it. After a long pause, Commissioner Williams finally agreed.
So next Tuesday, Commissioners will continue the discussion. Over the next week, Commissioner Smith said she would send along more questions for answers, while Commissioner Washington encouraged residents to get online and look at these documents.
Mayor Meyer noted the proposal will be revisited at next Tuesday’s legislative meeting, 6 p.m., March 23.
Brandstetter Carroll … and a dog park?
Commissioners heard a proposed order approving a one-year contract with Brandstetter Carroll, Inc., for design and engineering services.
Brandstetter Carroll, Inc. is being “asked to perform design and engineering services for the city of Covington, for the assistance in the rehabilitating, updating, and creation of Parks and Recreation facilities and amenities,” city documents say. “Each city selected project will consist of the following phases: base mapping, site analysis, conceptual design, concept design review, final plan, construction documents, bidding and construction administration. Each project must be approved by the City of Covington, before work may commence.”
Ben Oldiges, the city’s Parks & Rec manager, said the relationship with Brandstetter Carroll will “utilize their services for an extended period of time versus separate projects,” which would “save the city a lot of time, money and resources.”
Oldiges said priorities for the firm would include renovations to Goebel Park, as well as (No. 1 on his list) a dog park.
He said that once the agreement is made, the dog park — which is already budgeted with CDBG funding for $70,000 — would likely begin, with the design phase hopefully completed by the summer.
Commissioners slated the proposal for next week’s consent agenda.
Sidewalk rehab at First Financial on Madison
First Financial Bank will be opening their Northern Kentucky hub at 601 Madison Ave., — a $3.4 million investment that includes completely renovating the building’s interior and exterior, including adding a bank branch on the first floor and creating offices, conference rooms and event space for community meetings on the remaining floors.
First Financial also wants to improve the sidewalks on their Sixth Street frontage leading to their Interactive Teller Machine (ITM). They want everything completed for late Summer 2021.
They have requested $25,000 in TIF assistance to pay for the repairs, which would be complete within six months.
Commissioners put the proposal on next week’s consent agenda.
Patient reporting updates
Commissioners heard a proposal from the Fire Department to identify a new ePCR vendor. After researching numerous ePCR products, Stryker HealthEMS ePCR was identified as the best available product with the added advantage that many other Fire/EMS agencies in Northern Kentucky are also selecting Stryker HeallhEMS, “providing much needed standardization in the region,” the fire chief’s proposal read.
The cost will be $16,344 annually over a five-year contract, for a total of $81,720, with costs to be paid for by net ambulance billing.
The city placed the proposal on the consent agenda for next week.
Small cell tower discussion
City officials said that next week, legal counsel and zoning representatives would be present to discuss new, small cell phone towers that have been constructed around the area to support new 5G service.
Code of Ordinances second reading
Mayor Meyer made sure to remind viewers that at next week’s legislative meeting, Commissioners will hear a second reading and take a vote on a new Code of Ordinances codification.
He encouraged all interested to review the materials before the city votes.
It’s the first time in 37 years that the city will recodify.
Praise for COVID-19 clinic
Commissioner Washington read a letter written by Rev. Richard Fowler that praised the city’s COVID-19 clinic held on March 13:
“We deeply appreciate your consideration as a partner in the COVID-19 clinic held at the Ninth Street Baptist Church on March 13, 2021,” he read. “By means of this event 275 persons received the Johnson & Johnson version of the vaccine. We were so pleased to provide the facility to make this happen and be assured, it was a greatly valued service to our community. The city is to be commended along with Blanks’s Pharmacy and the Northern Kentucky Health Department for considering this service to the area. Though we initially planned to focus on the Eastside, calls came from every direction: Union, Independence, Alexandria, Fort Thomas and Cincinnati. However, the majority of those coming for the shot did come from Covington.
“It was a wonderful experience to see those that wanted the vaccination had a place to come that was relatively close and accessible. Whether capable or challenged, all that came had full access. Those I talked with felt welcomed and well served by the staff from the Health Department and St. Elizabeth.
“We look forward to such events in the future as we come through this period of testing. We learn that tests are needed to identify short comings and weaknesses, but also point out our strengths. This partnership is a true strength for Covington. Please call on us with future opportunities to serve.”
Next meeting
The next regularly scheduled Covington Commission meeting will be a legislative meeting held at 6 p.m., March 23. The meetings can be followed live on Fioptics channel 815, Spectrum channel 203, the Telecommunications Board of Northern Kentucky (TBNK) website, the TBNK Facebook page @TBNKonline, and the TBNK Roku channels.
