North Kentucky News

Covington, Kentucky is set to benefit from two development projects that could bring about 125 jobs to the city and generate an estimated $1.7 million in payroll taxes over the next five years. The projects, which include a new tenant for a historic train station and a proposed central office for the Kenton County schools, are expected to bring in over $22 million in new investment.

In order to encourage these projects, the Board of Commissioners has approved separate job development incentives that will partially reimburse future payroll taxes. Covington's Economic Development Director, Tom West, emphasized that the purpose of these incentives is to stimulate new investment, job creation, and revenue for the city.

One of the projects involves City Wide Facility Solutions, a facility maintenance business for commercial properties, purchasing the former historic train station at 200 W. Pike St. The company plans to relocate 31 jobs to the station in the first quarter of 2024 and create 13 new jobs over the next three years. President and CEO Brent Degenhardt expressed excitement about becoming part of the Covington business community and praised the city for being a pleasure to work with.

The other project is the proposed construction of a new central office building for the Kenton County School District. The building would be located at 347 Madison Pike, on the site of the former Rolling Hills Nursery. The district plans to move 75 employees from its current leased space at the Sanitation District No. 1 building in Fort Wright. Construction on the 53,000 square foot building could begin as early as mid-2024 and be completed by the end of 2025.

Both projects will benefit from an incentive program that involves a reimbursement of 1 percentage point of the city's 2.45 percent payroll tax for every new job brought to Covington or created within the city. The estimated value of the incentives is $104,000 for the City Wide Facility Solutions project and $274,000 for the school office. The projected return on investment to the city is estimated to be $420,000 for the facility solutions project and $1.29 million for the school office.

These development projects represent a significant investment in Covington and have the potential to create jobs and boost the local economy. With the approval of the job development incentives, Covington is taking proactive steps to attract new businesses and support existing ones.

Click this link to access more information: https://www.covingtonky.gov/news/2023/12/20/2-development-projects-could-bring-125-jobs