All the elements of the good life come together in Northern Kentucky
April 5, 2022
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By wmadministrator
The Northern Kentucky/Greater Cincinnati riverfront is a
major tourism draw and economic driver.
The Northern Kentucky Pridefest in Covington’s Mainstrasse Village features an assortment of vendors, games, drag shows, craft beer, an art installation walking tour and more. Pre-COVID, the event also included a parade, featuring the Dancing Queens (shown here) and other community groups.
Inspired Fashion owner Catrena Bowman-Thomas, center, and friends celebrated the grand opening of her brick-and-mortar clothing boutique in Covington. The fashion clothing store began as an online boutique for busy professional women. Bowman-Thomas also is executive director of the Northern Kentucky Community Action Commission.
Located in the
historic Citizens Telephone Building in Covington, Smoke Justis is a sports bar and restaurant known for its smooth bourbon and smoked meats.
Northern Kentucky offers an unrivaled quality of life that blends urban, suburban and rural amenities to suit every lifestyle.
Covington Plaza, part of the city’s portion of the Riverfront Commons project, features two hiking and biking trails that link to the six-city Riverfront Commons trail system, two overlooks, canoe and kayak access, and a 1,350-seat amphitheater and event area.
The MainStrasse Village Mardi Gras Parade brings a taste of New Orleans to Covington each February.
Hotel Covington, a 114-room boutique hotel, is located in the former Coppin’s Department Store in downtown Covington. Its restaurant and bar, named Coppin’s, is a popular spot for cocktails and locally sourced foods.
Bircus Brewing—a microbrewery, restaurant, theater and performing circus—is considered one of the most unique destination breweries in the U.S. The attraction opened in Ludlow in 2018 and has grown significantly over the past few years, branching out to Covington (pictured) and Cincinnati
St. Elizabeth Healthcare and ArtWorks, an award-winning nonprofit that has created public art throughout the Greater Cincinnati region, unveiled a 59-foot-tall by 91-foot-wide mural to honor the heroic efforts of healthcare workers worldwide during the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond. Simultaneously, this year marks the 160th anniversary of St. Elizabeth Healthcare so this mural also creates a lasting public commemoration of this moment in history.
Covington, Ky.
Newport on the Levee, a multi-level retail entertainment destination in Newport, offers a stunning view of the skyline and easy access to downtown Cincinnati via the Purple People Bridge.
The Purple People Bridge
Photo courtesy of MeetNKY
ns from all over the region celebrated the Cincinnati Bengals’ return to the Super Bowl in 2022, the team’s first appearance since 1989. Who Dey, the Bengals’ mascot, visited with football fans at Newport on the Levee during the leadup to the big game.
Gov. Andy Beshear, right, joined Fidelity Investments leaders, including Kevin Canafax, vice president of regional public affairs, in celebrating the company’s plans to hire 600 more workers at its Covington campus. The July 2021 announcement marked the second year in a row that Fidelity added hundreds of workers at its NKY site.
One Highland, a mixed-use luxury condominium development being constructed in the heart of historic Fort Thomas, will feature nearly 13,000 s.f. of street level retail/office space and 18 single-level, luxury condominiums.
Churchill Downs will soon unveil its $100 million makeover of the historic Turfway Park, which it purchased in 2019. It has been renamed Turfway Park Racing
& Gaming.
Construction of Legacy Living Senior Housing in Florence was completed in the fall of 2021. The 14-acre development has 93 rooms and seven four-unit independent living townhomes.
Rendering of the completed street level for Corporex's Ovation project
Presales have begun for The Residences at Ovation, which includes 88 boardwalk residences with parking garage access, valet and vehicle detailing services, private elevator access, on-site security, refined floor-plan options, high-end appliances and unparalleled views from balconies located at the end of each home.
Following a $20 million investment, ZEISS Vision Care opened its new U.S. headquarters, optical laboratory and 2,500 s.f. showroom with a ribbon-cutting ceremony in July 2021.
Newport on the Levee
For more than 50 years, the IRS operated a data processing facility in downtown Covington on 23 acres of prime real estate. The City of Covington will replace the “flat top” building with a completely reimagined neighborhood that will feature a restored street grid, a levee park, a community plaza for festivals, and a mixture of buildings featuring offices, hotels, retail shops and residential units.
Ovation is a $1 billion mixed-use development that will cover nearly five city blocks at the confluence of the Ohio and Licking rivers in Newport.
Ovation will also have a freestanding, state-of-the-art health and wellness club with a full-service spa, group exercise classes, a heated elevated pool and more.
Employees cheer as company leaders and Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear celebrate the grand opening of the Dollar General distribution center in Walton, a $65 million investment that created more than 300 new distribution and private fleet jobs
Mike Zelkind is co-founder and CEO of 80 Acres, which is locating a new vertical farming facility in Boone County.
ee Crume, president and CEO of Northern Kentucky Tri-County Economic Development Corp., speaks at the Northern Kentucky Chamber of Commerce’s Government Forum Series at Covington Plaza in August 2021.
Sanctuary Village, a new Fischer Homes community in Villa Hills, recently was completed. Home prices start at around $550,000 and go up to $800,000.
The Gateway Flats
at Manhattan Harbour opened in May 2021
on the Dayton riverfront. The 76 units have sweeping views of downtown Cincinnati and the Ohio River.
The Ascent at Roebling’s Bridge, the iconic blue-and-white riverfront residential building with a spiral-sloped roof, is a notable fixture of the Northern Kentucky skyline.
Kenton County’s 303 Court Street, a former city-county building and jail, is being renovated into 133 apartments and 6,000 s.f. of ground-level commercial space.
Redevelopment of the former YMCA and Gateway Bookstore is revitalizing the corner of Madison Avenue and Pike Street in downtown Covington. The project will expand Hotel Covington, provide space for a bourbon experience that will serve as the northern trailhead for the Kentucky bourbon industry, and create 10,000 s.f. of office space. Hotel Covington officials are hoping for an October 2022 grand opening.
Hemmer Construction celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2021. The company also completed several projects, including an expansion project at Mazak Corp. that included two new buildings.
Thomas More University in Crestview Hills is a small, liberal arts school that serves more than 2,000 students.
In celebration of its 100th anniversary in 2021, Thomas More University launched a yearlong series of events to honor the past and propel the university into the next 100 years.
Over 4,000 students attend one of Gateway Community & Technical College’s campuses in Boone County, Covington and Edgewood.
Gateway Community & Technical College launched a lineworker training certificate program in 2020 with the help of grant funding from the Duke Energy Foundation.
About 16,000 students attend Northern Kentucky University, located on 300 acres in Highland Heights just seven miles from downtown Cincinnati.
The Transit Authority of Northern Kentucky (TANK) has provided transit services since 1973.
Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear and Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine said they will jointly pursue up to $2 billion in federal funding to drastically reduce traffic congestion on and around the Brent Spence Bridge.
Verst Logistics, a large third-party logistics company headquartered in Walton, offers fully integrated transportation, warehousing, product fulfillment, contract packaging and e-commerce services.
The Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport (CVG) welcomed more than 9.1 million passengers in 2019. CVG ended 2021 at 70% of pre-pandemic passenger levels, serving an estimated 6.4 million travelers. The airport has an annual economic impact of $6.8 billion, and it is the seventh-largest cargo airport in North America—home to Amazon Air’s primary U.S. hub and DHL Express Global Superhub.
Central Bank has served the Northern Kentucky community for 17 years. It operates four branches there, in Crestview Hills, Florence, Fort Mitchell (shown here) and Union.
The six-story, 250,000-s.f. St. Elizabeth Cancer Center in Edgewood, which opened in late 2020, can treat up to 500 patients a day with personalized care and treatment.
The Florence Wormald Heart & Vascular Institute at St. Elizabeth, a new 67,000-s.f. building in Edgewood, sees about 200 patients daily. Cardiologist Dr. Damodhar P. Suresh, right, serves as executive medical director of the institute.
Florence Mayor Diane Whalen, left, and St. Elizabeth officials celebrate the November 2021 grand opening of a new endoscopy center on the campus of St. Elizabeth Florence.
In December 2021, DBL Law moved into its new headquarters, the refurbished Monarch Building in downtown Covington. The $11.3 million construction project began in the fall of 2020. Managing partner Bob Hoffer, shown here in one of the firm’s conference rooms, said the building is a bridge to connect DBL with its history; the firm started in Covington more than 60 years ago but moved to Crestview Hills in 1983.
West Sixth Brewing operates a taproom and retail location at Bridgeview Box Park at Newport on the Levee. The box park is an open-air venue that opened in 2020 and has provided a safe space for patrons to gather during the pandemic.
Family-owned Braxton Brewing Co. now has three locations: Covington, Cincinnati and Fort Mitchell. A popular attraction is Braxton’s Igloobar on the rooftop of its Covington taproom. Each heated igloo can accommodate up to eight people.
A popular attraction, New Riff Distilling crafts a range of whiskeys: bourbon, rye, malted rye and Kentucky wild gin. Its distillery and warehouse tours offer an up-close immersion in the bourbon experience.
Noah’s Ark at the Ark Encounter attracts thousands of visitors annually to Williamstown.
American singer/songwriter Kesha was the first artist to perform at the new PromoWest Pavilion at Ovation in August 2021. The $40 million indoor/outdoor concert venue was constructed as part of the first phase of the Ovation project in Newport. Photo by Day Off Cincy
The Newport Aquarium at Newport on the Levee has thousands of animals from around the world in a million gallons of water. It attracts approximately 700,000 guests annually.
The Northern Kentucky University men’s basketball team had an exciting post-season run, falling just short of earning the 2022 Horizon League Basketball Championship title.
Just minutes from downtown Covington and Cincinnati, Devou Park’s 18-hole golf course offers the convenience of being centrally located while remaining quiet and secluded.
The Northern Kentucky baseball team once called the Florence Freedom changed its name in early 2020 to the Florence Y’alls, paying homage to the iconic Florence Y’all water tower that welcomes Interstate 75 drivers to NKY.
The Florence Y’all water tower welcomes Interstate 75 drivers to Northern Kentucky.
Gov. Andy Beshear presented a total of nearly $20 million in Cleaner Water program grants to Northern Kentucky utilities companies. Sanitation District No. 1 (SD1), Boone County Water and Northern Kentucky Water District were among the recipients.
Owen Electric has more than 5,700 miles of energized lines in nine Northern Kentucky counties: Owen, Grant, Gallatin, Pendleton, Scott, Campbell, Boone, Kenton and Carroll.
Legion Logistics moved its headquarters in 2021 from Florence to a new 5,000-s.f. space at Newport on the Levee. The third-party logistics provider (3PL) specializes in refrigerated and frozen food, over-dimensional freight, multi-pick and multi-drop shipments, and fresh produce.
To honor its veteran employees on Veterans Day, Perfetti Van Melle designed and unveiled three veterans’ Walls of Honor in its Erlanger factory distribution center and main lobby. The candy company, is headquartered in Boone County.
Bircus Brewing in Ludlow
Photo courtesy of Rabbit Hash Facebook page
The Newport Gangster Tour
Hofbrauhaus Newport
Velocity Bike and Bean in Florence
Mazzocca Bros. Furniture & Antiques in Newport brings classic pieces back to life at an accessible price, allowing them to shine for a second time.
Photo courtesy of Mazzoca Bros.
Bircus Brewing in Ludlow is described as a place where the “surreal world of circus meets the love of beer.”
Photo by Point & Click Studio, courtesy of Bircus Brewing
Horizon Community Funds has raised nearly $50 million in funds since its inception in 2017, illustrating the organization’s commitment to the Northern Kentucky community. First Financial Bank, shown here, is among many companies that have contributed to the cause. Horizon has granted more than $16 million to 363 nonprofits and currently has more than $40 million in assets under management. The community foundation raised more than $2 million for the Horizon NKY Coronavirus Relief Fund and continues to identify crucial needs in Northern Kentucky and directs funds to where they are most needed.
Stakeholders celebrate the launch of Northern Kentucky Tri-County Economic Development Corp.’s Build + Elevate NKY economic growth plan.
Lee Crume is CEO of Northern Kentucky Tri-ED.
The city of Dayton temporarily changed its name to “Who Deyton, Ky.” in support of the Cincinnati Bengals’ quest to bring home the Vince Lombardi Trophy at the 2022 Super Bowl. Did you know? The original Cincinnati Bengals team held its first workout and scrimmage in Dayton.
The Northern Kentucky Chamber of Commerce Annual Golf Outing at Summit Hills Country Club offers a chance for chamber members to network with clients and customers—and take fun photos.
Fifth Third Bank and the Northern Kentucky Chamber created a partnership to focus on diversity, equity and inclusion efforts in Northern Kentucky. In March, the chamber hosted its first quarterly event, “Intentionally Building Diverse Connections,” which brought businesses of all sizes and sectors together to help create diverse business relationships.
The Lane Report