Take a tour through some urban homes in NKY

Ever wonder what some of the new homes being built and rehabbed in Northern Kentucky's urban area look like inside?

You will get your chance in Covington on April 19. That's when nonprofit economic development agency The Catalytic Fund will host self-guided "urban living" tours called Beyond the Curb.

This will be the first of a series of tours that will take place in the river cities of Covington, Bellevue, Newport, Dayton and Ludlow over the next two years.

The tours will highlight Northern Kentucky's river cities as one urban area, said Brandon Sehlhorst, real estate associate with The Catalytic Fund.

"If you're living in the Licking Riverside neighborhood in Covington or the East Row in Newport, you'll notice how walkable and accessible it is to downtown Cincinnati," Sehlhorst said. "We're hoping they see this as one urban core. It means these aren't five fragmented cities. We're one area, and we want to use that to market to potential residents."

People who take the tour will be able to go into more than a dozen buildings in the Historic Licking Riverside/Roebling Point area, the Pike Street corridor and MainStrasse Village. This includes the "Firehouse," an old fire station in MainStrasse converted into a single family residence. Other buildings include the Ascent, the Mutual Building, Pulse Lofts and the Boone Block.

"I think people will view Northern Kentucky's urban core in a different light," Sehlhorst said.

Tickets for Beyond the Curb cost $15 in advance and $20 the day of admission, and can be bought at beyondthecurb.eventbrite.com. The event begins at Braxton Brewing Company, 27 W. 7th Street in Covington where people register and pick up their maps for the tour. People can go through the self-guided tour at their leisure. It will run from 10-4 on April 19.

The next Beyond the Curb tour will be in Newport in May, though exact date and details have yet to be determined. Ludlow, Bellevue and Dayton's tours will likely happen in 2016, Sehlhorst said.