NKY riverfront wants some of the spotlight

Northern Kentucky business leaders wanted to draw attention to the south side of the Ohio River Tuesday morning.

Much attention recently has gone toward the Cincinnati side, as amenities such as Smale Riverfront Park and developments such as the Banks come online.

Many long-awaited projects on Northern Kentucky’s riverfront have started to bear fruit, leaders told the public at a presentation by the Covington Business Council Tuesday morning. The presentation was hosted by the Northern Kentucky Chamber of Commerce.

“I want them to have hope,” said Pat Frew, executive director of the CBC. “People see all the great things that have been happening on the Cincinnati side, they’re like, ‘What about us?’ Fifteen years ago when I started working in Northern Kentucky, all I heard was, ‘Northern Kentucky is kicking Cincinnati’s butt.’ Now they’re not saying that anymore.”

Jack Moreland, president of Southbank Partners, an economic development agency focused on Northern Kentucky’s river cities, updated the community on several key riverfront projects. The projects include:

Manhattan Harbour rises from the riverbanks

One of the largest residential developments planned for Northern Kentucky’s riverfront will have its first homes finished soon. The first five homes of the $600 million Manhattan Harbour development on Dayton, Ky.’s riverfront are under construction. The developer, DCI Properties, has spent the last several years raising the riverbank in front of the flood wall 16 feet so it’s out of the floodplain.

“People would say, ‘Well, that will never happen; they’ll never get that done,’ ” Moreland said. “Houses are being constructed.”

Ferris wheel in Newport closer to reality

A developer has already secured money to build a giant Ferris wheel at Newport on the Levee, Moreland said. A development agreement, however, must still be signed between Newport on the Levee, the city of Newport and the Ferris wheel developer, Koch Development out of St. Louis, according to officials at Newport on the Levee.

In May, The Enquirer was first to report the owners of Newport on the Levee, San Diego-based Price Group, had a letter of intent with Koch Development to build a 180-foot-high SkyWheel on Newport’s riverfront.

The same company built a similar wheel in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. The wheel would be perched 85-feet above the Ohio River on the flood wall, giving it a 265-foot tall vantage point, Moreland said.

“It’s not a thrill ride,” Moreland said. “It’s a viewing platform. If you’ve ever been in London and rode the one in London, it’s going to be similar, only smaller.”

Koch Development did not return a message seeking comment. Koch, the Levee and the city will meet sometime in the next two months to hash out a development agreement, said Newport on the Levee general manager Harold Dull.

If all goes well, the SkyWheel could be spinning on Newport’s riverfront by summer 2016, Dull said.

Aqua on the Levee to bring business to the Levee

The $80 million hotel and residential development under construction next to the Levee will bring more business to the 15-year-old entertainment center, Moreland said.

It will include a 144-room hotel in the burgeoning Aloft chain and 239 apartments atop an 800-space garage.

Ky. 9/AA Highway moving into Newport

After being talked about for decades, Ky. 9/AA Highway has started to extend into Newport.

Construction to extend the highway from Wilder along the Licking River through Newport to the Taylor-Southgate Bridge has started.

The first phase will extend the four-lane highway from 12th Street to Ninth Street. The second phase, from the Taylor-Southgate Bridge to Fifth Street, will go out to bid Oct. 23, Moreland said. The project is expected to jump start development, including the $1 billion residential/commercial Ovation development that has been dormant for 10 years.

It will also make other property along the route more desirable, Moreland said, including 22 acres where the former Newport Steel factory operated and the Peter G. Noll public housing development that will be torn down to make way for the highway.

“We’re making progress,” Moreland said. “It’s been talked about since 1964 and now it is happening.”

Riverfront Commons moving forward

Several sections of a 11.5-mile trail along the Ohio River called Riverfront Commons will get built this year.

The trail, when completed, will stretch from Ludlow to Fort Thomas, connecting all the river cities along the south side of the Ohio.

As part of it, Bellevue this summer will get a river overlook on courtesy of the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet. The state will spend $3.8 million to repair erosion along Taylor Creek and build an overlook where the creek flows into the Ohio River in between the Chart House and Joe’s Crab Shack restaurants.

Construction will begin an a bike/pedestrian path from the former Covington Landing site west to Ky. 8.

Covington hopes to hear this summer whether it will get a $4.2 million grant to make major improvements to its riverfront.