This genteel town just south of the Ohio River features a number of charming treasures including the lively MainStrasse district with its trendy bars, pubs and restaurants as well as beautiful homes stretched along the river beneath the strikingly modern architecture of the architectural jewel, the Ascent at Roebling's Bridge, designed by Daniel Libeskind. Covington is experiencing a renaissance with new shops, restaurants and condos opening along Madison and Pike Streets, and a burgeoning Arts District that acts as the cultural glue that binds the city's charm to its proud denizens. Plus, its successful startup scene is attracting entrepreneurs, especially in emerging informatics and data-driven industries thanks to the UpTech business accelerator.
Northern Kentucky enjoys the presence and commitment from national, regional and local developers as well as an aggressive real estate community who help to create a successful business environment. Check www.NorthernKentuckyUSA.com as a clearinghouse for all sites and buildings listings in Northern Kentucky.
After several years of waiting for state funding, three Northern Kentucky educational institutions have joined for a new project to broaden Gateway Community and Technical College’s reach into the urban core, with a new planned campus in the heart of Covington. Gateway, in partnership with the Kenton County Public Library and Covington Independent Public Schools, announced they’ll join efforts to make this happen. The planned urban campus will comprise Two Rivers Middle School, 502 Scott St., that will close this to middle school students summer and a brand new building adjacent to nearby the library set to open in 2014. The library and this new building would be connected by walkways and doors with both the library and the college using the space, according to the college. Lynda Jackson, Covington Schools Superintendent, said the partnership was a “win-win” for the school district and college. “We are moving the middle school to the Holmes High School Campus this summer, and we were concerned that the middle school would be vacant. Having Gateway at that site will mean the building will continue to be used to educate residents of our urban core.” Gateway has worked to get funding from the Kentucky legislature for several years and in 2008, lawmakers approved $21.3 million to build it in a “contingency budget” that depended on excess tax revenues. Now Kentucky is facing one of its largest budget deficits in history $1 billion over the next two years, so it’s unlikely that state funding will come any time soon for Gateway. That’s when the local officials started looking for creative ways to get things done. The library had been planning a major renovation project similar to what Gateway was planning. The work together was the smart seemed the smart thing to do, said Dave Schroeder, Library Director. “When we began thinking about our renovations plans and the college’s building plans, we discovered that we would be building between 14,000 and 18,000 square feet of space that the college was going to build. We agreed that we should pursue a joint plan that would save approximately several million dollars in construction costs,” Schroeder said. Gateway’s had 3,130 students in 2007, the latest figures available. It has expanded in recent years and has campuses in Boone County, Covington and Edgewood. It also has an urban learning center in Covington and a center in Park Hills. It’s not been decided when Gateway will start classes at Two Rivers but, it could begin as early as this fall, the college said. Writer: Feoshia HendersonSource: Gateway Community and Technical College News Release
Soapbox columnist, Casey Coston takes a look at the Cincinnati Parks system and what the "Great Stimulus" could mean for Riverfront Park and The Banks projects.
A 120,000 square-foot, three-story building located in Covington, Kentucky alongside Interstates 71/75 will soon boast one of the most visible green roofs in the Cincinnati region as an estimated 150,000 cars and trucks will zoom past every day. The new St. Elizabeth medical facility received an anonymous donation of more than $420,000 to help cover the cost of the green roof. Sanitation District No. 1 Program Manager, Jim Turner, is excited about the project’s visibility and believes that this particular project will be one of the most visible green roofs in the country. The first plantings, on the roughly 18,000 square-foot green roof, could be coming in May and will produce blooms in reds, whites, yellows and pinks. Read full article here.
The Northern Kentucky Area Planning Commission's LinkGIS has been asked to participate in a Library of Congress effort to develop standards for archiving and preserving digital mapping data.Kentucky officials selected LinkGIS and Louisville Metro's LOJIC to join state archivists and GIS professionals from North Carolina and Utah to assist in the national effort to save these public records, which may hold legal, fiscal, analytical, and historical value.Because of the nature of GIS systems, this data can often be overwritten and lost forever when updates or changes are made.Trina Brush, deputy director of GIS administration for NKAPC, says that her staff's effort to archive data over the past several years is part of the reason they were asked to participate in the effort."The state was aware that we had taken it upon ourselves to archive our data," she says. "Once it's gone, these data are unavailable for future use and analysis."Kentucky’s collaborative Geo-MAPP effort also is working to set geospatial standards for the rest of the state. One of the goals is to decide what local governments and their constituents want archived and what conditions should be applied to the specific layers.Brush says that she and her team are excited to be part of the process."GIS data represent a model of our world at specific points in time," she says. "We lose a lot when these files are overwritten or deleted. We aren't just doing this for our own benefit, but for all those who hopefully will benefit from it in the future."Writer: Kevin LeMasterSource: Northern Kentucky Area Planning Commission
Daniel Libeskind's dramatic addition to the Covington skyline, the Ascent, is celebrating its one year anniversary. In that year, over 50 families have moved into the sweeping blue luxury tower. n addition to the striking views, the Ascenti, a moniker residents have proudly adopted for themselves, have discovered additional benefits to living in one of the most important architectural statements in Northern Kentucky – a sense of community. Regular events such as the Wine Club gatherings held in a Libeskind designed wine cellar help neighbors in the glass building bond. The building also has its own set of Yoga and Pilates classes held in the 2,600-square-foot wellness suite complete with private massage room and state-of-the-art cardio and resistance equipment chosen by local celebrity trainer, Aaron Lakanen. The building even boasts its own private driver, John Callahan, who can be seen ferrying passengers around in the building's midnight blue stretch Lexus. "I have a great job," said John. "I get to help make life easy for some really nice people. Whether it is helping get a business trip started off with ease or taking a couple out for a special night on the town, I really enjoy what I do." Writer: Jeff SyroneyPhotography by Scott Beseler
Keep Cincinnati Beautiful's biggest event of the year takes place on April 25 with a kickoff in College Hill, and the organization could use your help.Great American Cleanup, the nation's largest community improvement project with an estimated 2.8 million volunteers, is aimed at boosting the quality of life in neighborhoods by planting flowers and trees, picking up litter, collecting discarded tires, painting façades, landscaping, and recyclingBecause of the massive amount of work to be done, Keep Cincinnati Beautiful program manager Josman Rodriguez says that volunteers are very much needed.Just last year, 8,352 volunteers collected 406,460 pounds of litter and debris; planted 13,500 flowers and bulbs; cleaned 578 miles or roads, streets and highways; and recycled more than 40,000 plastic bottles and more than 2,500 scrap tires."We're expecting 10,000 volunteers beautifying 90 communities, 25 parks, and 30 schools," Rodriguez says.He also says that Give Back Cincinnati, community leaders, and Cincinnati council members plan to participate, and that United Dairy Farmers is serving as a co-sponsor.To volunteer, contact Liz Bowater at (513) 352-4380 or at liz.bowater@cincinnati-oh.gov.Writer: Kevin LeMasterSource: Josman Rodriguez, project manager/public awareness, Keep Cincinnati Beautiful
In an effort to integrate itself deeper into the local community, Greenup Café, at 308 Greenup Street in Covington, is beginning to incorporate several green and sustainable business practices."We're basically gradually going green," says Janna Williams, Greenup Café's new general manager. "It's a change that's being made to be more locally inclusive."On the menu, the café will be incorporating more locally-grown meats and producfrom Findlay Market, and is offering fair trade, organic coffee from Cincinnati's own Coffee Break Roasting Company.The café's on-site herb garden will be fed by a compost pile."That will give us more carrots, tomatoes, et cetera that we can use here in our space," Williams says.Williams says that they're trying to be more energy conscious by leaving lights off during the day, and are exploring ways in which they can cut down on their use of chemicals."We function on the lowest level of light that we can," she says. "If we can turn a light out, we do. Any lighting needed will be from energy efficient bulbs. As far as chemicals, we're going to have a green alternative to all of our cleaning products."Williams adds that they plan to use low-flow faucets and hand dryers in the restrooms to cut down on water and paper towel waste.On its website, Greenup Café is soliciting additional ideas on how it can operate in a more sustainable, neighborhood-focused way.So far, Williams has heard nothing but positive feedback from customers."In this economic climate, it's difficult to be green," she says. "It's an expensive endeavor. But why not pay a couple of extra dollars when you know that the quality will be amazing?"Williams says that the café is working on several community events, including a "doggy happy hour", a community movie night that could feature films from local filmmakers, and fundraisers for various area organizations.She also says that they're considering commissioning works from local sculptors to decorate the outdoor dining space."The goal is for Greenup Café to be not just a coffee shop, or a café, but a true community center," Williams says. "It's about shrinking the global level down to the community."Writer: Kevin LeMasterSource: Janna Williams, general manager, Greenup CaféPhotography: Scott Beseler
The Northern Kentucky Entrepreneurship Alliance, part of Vision 2015's entrepreneurial strategy for the region, has been established to market Northern Kentucky as a hub of innovation.The idea was developed by NKU associate provost for economic initiatives and dean of the university's Haile/US Bank College of Business John Beehler, who saw the need for collaboration and unity among the many entrepreneurial agencies in the area.Participating agencies include the business school, ezone Innovation and Commercialization Center, Northern Kentucky Area Development District, Northern Kentucky Chamber of Commerce, Small Business Development Center, SCORE, Southbank Partners, Northern Kentucky Tri-ED, and the Williamstown ICC.The alliance has begun work on key issues such as establishing a one-stop clearinghouse for entrepreneurs; facilitating education, training, and mentoring; increasing available capital; developing an entrepreneurial community, and promoting the region as an entrepreneurial hub.Read the full article here.
TiER1 Performance Solutions has just landed $99,982 in SBIR-STTR matching funds from the Kentucky Cabinet for Economic Development (KCED).The Covington-based technology firm will apply the funds to R&D for "Accelerated Learning through Serious Game Technology," a project for the Department of Defense. TiER1 is conducting this program with guidance from the Northern Kentucky ezone, of Northern Kentucky Tri-ED, and the KCED's Department of Commercialization and Innovation (DCI).This collaboration is another win for Northern Kentucky (NKY) and once again affirms TiER1's position as a leading voice in technological innovation."TiER1 is an innovative company with a unique and proven online training and learning solution," says DCI Commissioner Deborah Clayton. "We are pleased to partner with the ezone in providing SBIR-STTR matching funds to a Northern Kentucky-based technology company."This type of cooperation is well established in NKY. Since opening its doors in 2002, TiER1 has helped numerous commercial, non-profit and government organizations set up an array of affordable and effective learning and knowledge management solutions.Its efforts gained significant attention in 2008 when Inc. 5000 named TiER1 one of the nation's fastest growing companies for the second year in a row. Another recent accolade for TiER1 includes being named 2009 small tech business of the year by ConnectKentucky. TiER1's leadership credits the strong base of local supporting organizations and advocates for much of its success."TiER1 has received tremendous support from the Northern Kentucky ezone, where our company started in 2002,” says Kevin Moore, TiER1's Founding Partner and Chief Learning Officer. “Northern Kentucky is fostering high-technology companies in the ezone and the Commonwealth is supporting this important industry with funding through the Kentucky Science and Technology Corporation.”This funding is available to all innovative firms in the NKY area. "The ezone supports high-tech companies in Northern Kentucky," says Casey Barach, Vice President, Entrepreneurship, Northern Kentucky Tri-County Economic Development Corporation. "At a time when small, high-tech companies may be having difficulty obtaining funding, the ezone can assist them in accessing grants and funding from Kentucky."To learn more about funding for Spring 2009, for which the deadline is May 7, visit here. Writer: Jonathan DeHartSource: Cheryl Besl
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