The big empty parking lot just east of Newport on the Levee is finally scheduled for development. Capital Investment Group broke ground Thursday on an $80 million apartment building and hotel. The project will be called Aqua on the Levee.

Features:

239 apartments.

144-room boutique Starwood Aloft Hotel, developed and managed by Louisville-based Musselman Hotels.

10,000 square feet of hotel meeting space.

8,300 square feet of retail space.

800 car parking garage

Capital Investment Group, which also operates Newport on the Levee, says this brings its total investment in Newport to nearly $150 million.

Gregg Fusaro, Partner, Capital Investment Group, says "We're going after empty-nesters. We're going after young professionals."

Northern Kentucky Convention and Visitors Bureau CEO Eric Summe says the CVB is particularly excited about the meeting space and hotel facilities. He says that will help draw visitors to the Levee during the week when traffic there tends to be slow.

The development had been in the works for more than 10 years. Newport and Campbell County recently agreed to waive property taxes on the site for 30 years. Instead, CIG will make annual payments of $138,000 to the Newport School District for 30 years.