On Tuesday, the Kenton County Fiscal Court accepted the joint bid from Al. Neyer and Urban Sites to build residential housing atop the Kenton County Government Center’s planned parking garage.

As a result of Tuesday’s vote, Kenton County Judge/Executive Kris Knochelmann is now authorized to negotiate a contract for the project, including but not limited to its scope and density as well as financial components.

“Al. Neyer and Urban Sites were great partners to Kenton County when they converted our former administration building in Covington into a marquee example of quality urban living in Northern Kentucky,” Knochelmann said in a statement. “We look forward to partnering with them again on a project we believe can further fuel the work being done to bring new life to the 12th Street Interchange.”

Kenton County previously selected Al. Neyer and Urban Sites as the development team for The Hayden, which transformed the county’s former administration building at 103 E. Third St. into 133 units of market-rate housing and 4,000 square feet of retail space. That project was completed in early 2023, and is approximately 90% leased.

The garage, which will be located behind the Kenton County Government Center, is designed to replace employee parking that will be absorbed by the Brent Spence Bridge Corridor project. In September, the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet entered into an agreement to reimburse Kenton County up to $15 million to cover associated costs.

At an Oct. 31 special meeting, the Kenton County Fiscal Court selected Dugan & Meyers to serve as construction manager for the parking garage portion of the project.

Work on the garage portion is expected to be complete by spring 2025.

The project builds on Kenton County’s work to support economic development in Covington, both residential and commercial. That work includes:

• signing nine PILOT (payment in lieu of taxes) agreements in Covington since 2016;
• deferring nearly $1.4 million to the Covington TIF District to support economic development initiatives;
• providing $10 million in construction bonds to build the OneNKY Center to house the region’s growth organizations as well as a $15 million life sciences lab;
• committing up to $3.6 million to support job training at the Enzweiler Building Institute location in Latonia; and
• using $3 million in site development funds to purchase the Sims Furniture Building to create Northern Kentucky’s first entrepreneurship hub.

About Al. Neyer

Al. Neyer is a modern model for employee-ownership and a leader in commercial real estate development and design-build in the Eastern U.S. For nearly 130 years, Al. Neyer has offered a diverse set of real estate development and design-build construction solutions for commercial clients. Established in 1894, the company specializes in industrial facilities, office and medical buildings, build-to-suit commercial projects, multi-unit residential, as well as urban mixed-use developments. Al. Neyer has offices in Cincinnati, Pittsburgh, Nashville and Raleigh, and serves a local, regional and national client base. 

About Urban Sites

Urban Sites was the vision of both Bill Baum and Ed Hubert almost 30 years ago. What started out as a few historic rehabs in the Over-the-Rhine neighborhood of Cincinnati has transformed into a company offering development services, construction services, and property management services with critical mass in Over-the-Rhine, East Walnut Hills and Covington. Urban Sites focuses on residential properties, office and retail spaces and affordable housing in walkable neighborhoods.

To view the complete bid, click here.