Northern Kentucky's Southbank Partners raises over $200k for Riverfront Commons project

After being told the potential benefits of the $170 million Riverfront Commons project, Northern Kentucky leaders were then cautioned that it would require hard work to secure the necessary funding to make the multi-use trail along a 4 mile stretch of Northern Kentucky’s riverfront reality.

Riverfront Commons would link Dayton, Bellevue, Newport and Covington and connect users with the Purple People Bridge, the proposed Licking River Greenway and the Boone County Park System.  The project would provide riverbank stabilization solutions and implement public access enhancements on the south bank of the Ohio River.

In March of 2009 Roger Peterman, chair of Southbank Partner’s Riverfront Commons Committee, said that the project represented $60 million worth of shovel-ready infrastructure that would spur an estimated $1.5 billion in private investment and create 4,000 jobs.

Southbank Partners has continued to lead the push to make the Riverfront Commons project reality with major victories over the past couple of months that have significantly advanced the project.  One of the most recent successes was the authorization of $25,000 from the Northern Kentucky Port Authority to assist with the consulting and advocacy efforts lead by Southbank Partners.  $50,000 was also recently approved for the proposed Licking River Greenway project that will create a greenway along the shores of the Licking River through the cities of Covington, Taylor Mill, Newport and Wilder.

The recent money raised factors into more than $200,000 that has been raised by Southbank in just two months.  An additional $135,000 is needed to engage consultants, including a Washington D.C.-based consulting firm that will lobby for federal funds for the Riverfront Commons project.

Additional money has been committed by the cities of Bellevue, Covington, Dayton, Fort Thomas, Ludlow, Campbell County and additional support from Newport and Kenton County pending.  Southbank also notes that several Northern Kentucky developers and riverfront businesses have also committed funding to the project.

Writer: Randy A. Simes
Photography by Scott Beseler