Kenton County is full-steam ahead on developing a new apartment building next to the county’s administrative building.
On Tuesday, the Kenton County Fiscal Court approved an agreement that allows for the construction of a $26 million apartment building atop the new parking garage at the Kenton County Government Center. Located at 1840 Simon Kenton Way in Covington, the government center is the administrative home of Kenton County, housing entities like the fiscal court and clerk’s office.
The new apartment complex will be named Bavarian Flats, a nod to the defunct Bavarian Brewing Company, which once occupied the government center building from 1911 to 1966.
The project is a joint venture between Cincinnati-based Merus, previously named Al. Neyer and Urban Sites. The apartment building will have approximately 125 units. Construction on the apartments is expected to begin once the parking garage is finished.
Merus President Dan Ruh told the fiscal court that the company was excited to take on the project.
“That we’re planning next door is really a Class A project,” Ruh said Tuesday. “We’ve been working hard at it for several months. It is a tight budget, and we’re hoping that construction costs hold firm.”
Kenton County Judge/Executive Kris Knochelmann said one of the project’s primary goals is to continue beautifying the 12th Street gateway into Covington.
“The beauty of what I think is to come out of this thing is one last piece of the block to keep it revitalized,” said Knochelmann. “And then, of course, this building, which anybody sees on a daily basis, is packed with people getting services and utilizing it. Then the nice thing is now, with the apartment above it, I think it is going to further bring life into this block at the end of 12th Street.”
A joint bid authored by Urban Sites and then Al. Neyer, which was presented to the fiscal court in December 2023, detailed plans for the apartment complex to include 25% studios, 50% one-bedroom and 25% two-bedroom rental units. The bid said the developers wanted rents priced at 80% to 120% of the area’s average median income.
Merus and Urban Sites have collaborated on other projects within Covington. In early 2023, the duo completed work on The Hayden, a 133-unit apartment building at 103 E. Third St. The building was once the Kenton County Administration Building and Detention Center.
The apartment complex’s development is part of a larger plan to reinvigorate the vacant property next to the government center. Starting in 2023, Kenton County introduced plans to construct a 248-space parking garage at the corner of Main Street and 12th Street. Many of the parking spaces will be underground.
Kenton County wants to build the garage because, once the $3.6 billion Brent Spence Bridge Corridor project commences, on-site surface parking will be lost. Currently, the Kenton County Government Center features a surface parking lot with over 100 spaces in front of the building.
An additional 160 parking spaces are underneath an elevated portion of Interstate 71/75. The bridge project would eliminate several of these spaces. The new parking garage would supplement the loss of parking spaces caused by the construction. According to a Kenton County press release, the project is expected to finish in October.
In late 2023, the Commonwealth of Kentucky announced it was contributing $15 million to the project to help cover the garage’s construction costs.
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