Chris Mayhew

cmayhew@communitypress.com

NEWPORT – Seven-story luxury hotel Aloft opens Jan. 17 raising a new live music bar at Newport on the Levee's entertainment scene.

An electronic stock exchange ticker scrolls inside Aloft Newport on the Levee's first-floor lobby. Aloft's "wxyz" barstools and a lobby full of modern furnishings are on one side of the lobby. A circular front desk and grab-and-go cafe are on its opposite side.

Above two sink faucets in the first-floor women's restroom is a smart mirror displaying weather forecasts, time, date and an Instagram photo feed of photos tagged aloft_newport. Room service from Germanic restaurant and bar Hofbräuhaus Newport is available on request. Splash is what Aloft calls its first-floor saltwater pool which uses no chlorine.

"Alofts are built for getting people down into the lobby experiencing the community and live music," said Amber Badgett, Aloft's director of sales.

Live music performances will happen with regularity in wxyz which has a section boasting local artwork, Badgett said.

Upstairs, rooms have views of either Cincinnati or the Northern Kentucky downtown skylines. There are seven suites ranging in space from 633 to 783 square feet. Each suite has its own living room featuring a rectangular high top bar. Bed headboards have inset paintings of scenes including John A. Roebling Suspension Bridge, the Ohio River and Cincinnati's riverfront skyline.

Aloft and its sister development Aqua apartments rose from a former barren parking lot at East Third and Washington streets. Aqua's website promotes 239 luxury apartments with 1- to 3-bedroom floor plans ranging in price from $1,200 to $3,000 monthly in rent. Aloft and Aqua will share a new 800-space parking garage. Aloft, Aqua and a new Hampton Inn west of Newport on the Levee are remaking Newport's riverfront. Construction continues at Aqua.

More downtown residential living is a Newport focus, Newport City Manager Tom Fromme said.

Aqua is adding more urban living options. Vue 180 apartments opened in 2013, the first to open near the Levee at 300 Riverboat Row. Monmouth Row apartments opened in 2014.

"And we're getting ready to break ground soon at Fourth Street School," Fromme said.

The former elementary school will be turned into 200 apartments at 101 E. Fourth St. within sight of Newport on the Levee.

"We're looking at about 800 new apartment units in all," Fromme said.

Every apartment complex is convenient to visiting Downtown Cincinnati or Newport, he said.

You can walk to anywhere downtown and the levee and the (Cincinnati Reds) ballpark," Fromme said.

Spurring economic activity around Newport on the Levee and the entire area is what Aloft and Aqua are doing, Newport Mayor Jerry Peluso said.

"The river cities are vibrant and full of life," Peluso said. "There is so much to see. The Aqua and Aloft developments are both in the middle of this exciting activity."