Five Northern Kentucky cities are receiving hundreds of thousands of dollars in state and federal grants to improve the appearance of their main business districts.

        The city of Covington was the region's biggest winner. It will receive $550,000 to help convert the historic Odd Fellows Hall building at Fifth Street and Madison Avenue into an office and retail showplace.

The Odd Fellows Hall at Fifth and Madison. (Jeff Swinger photos) | ZOOM |

        That money was awarded from the state's hotly contested major revitalization funds. A total of 33 Kentucky communities had requested $36 million from that grant pool, but only $6 million was awarded, said Karen Keown, Main Street/Renaissance Kentucky coordinator.

        Other smaller grants totaling $125,000 will go toward facade improvements for Madison Avenue buildings in Covington's downtown, and will help pay the salary of the city's new downtown renaissance manager, Telly McGaha. Mr. McGaha starts Aug. 6.

        Covington's awards were among $21.2 million in downtown revitalization grants announced Friday. Gov. Paul Patton recognized the 72 communities receiving Renaissance Kentucky awards at a ceremony in Danville.

        Besides Covington, Northern Kentucky's largest grants went to:

        • Newport, $495,000.
        • Williamstown, $327,500.
        • Fort Thomas, $125,000.
        • Dayton, $77,500.

        “We're ecstatic,” Covington City Manager Greg Jarvis said of the grant to help renovate the 144-year-old Odd Fellows Hall building. “The developers are really happy. We're ready to go.”

        Owners Damian and Kelly Sells and Tony Milburn bought the three-story building this year with plans for restoring it to its original condition. They plan to convert the pre-Civil-War structure to office space on the upper floors and a restaurant and possibly some shops on the street level. Developers will try to preserve as much of the building's interior as possible.

Tours of building

        Mr. Jarvis joined other members of the public in touring the Odd Fellows Hall building Thursday.

        “It is truly one of the significant historic buildings in Covington,” he said.

Writing dating to 1862 was found on a wall. | ZOOM |

        Launched in 1997, the Renaissance Kentucky program provides money to maintain or restore downtowns and entice new businesses. Since Mr. Patton started the program, dozens of cities have received millions for infrastructure planning, streetscaping, facade improvements and utilities.

        “We're really happy with the grants,” said Pat Wingo, Newport's economic development director. “We had applied for $1 million for the (Ninth and Monmouth) Marx-Cromer building as support for the parking garage, but we weren't surprised that we didn't get it.”

        Newport received $400,000 through the Transportation Enhancement Act for its Monmouth Streetscape project. The improvements include curbs and sidewalk replacement; relocation of utilities; and new streetlights, trees and street furniture.

        The grant money will lower assessments of property owners along the street by 35 percent. The typical property owner who has frontage of 35 feet will pay $435 per year less, for a savings of $4,350 over 10 years.
       

Funds for Newport

        Newport also received $95,000 in state Renaissance funds. About $30,000 of that will fund a facade study of Monmouth Street between Fourth and 11th streets. Another $30,000 will be used to study possible improvements within the Renaissance area, excluding Monmouth Street, and $35,000 will be used for facade grants.

        Fort Thomas will receive $95,000 for a market study and economic analysis of the central business district area, and the engineering and design of streetscape improvements, as well as the capital improvements themselves. Another $30,000 will be used to hire a Main Street manager.

        Dayton will use $62,500 of its grant money to buy a building on Sixth Avenue and convert it to the office of the city's Main Street manager and a steamboat-themed museum. Another $15,000 will be used to pay part of the salary of the city's Main Street manager.

        While Williamstown did not receive its requested $1 million grant for a new city hall and senior center, it did receive $312,500 for traffic signals, street lights and sidewalks, as well as matching funds for transportation projects and another $15,000 for management support.
       

Other allocations

        Allocations of $5,000 each were awarded to Bellevue, Erlanger and Independence. Statewide, the largest grant was awarded to Mr. Patton's hometown of Pikeville. That city will receive $1.45 million for street improvements, housing and construction of an arena at the Eastern Kentucky Exposition Center.

        Projects in Campbell and Grant counties also were among 32 Kentucky counties to be funded with money from the federal Recreational Trails program.

        In Campbell County's Pendery Park in Melbourne, $48,000 will be used to build a 2.1-mile, 10-foot wide asphalt trail for walking, jogging, bicycling and in-line skating, with access for canoeing and rafting.

        Grant County will use its $19,893 to build nearly 7,000 feet of new trail and exercise stations for walkers, joggers and hikers. The new trail also will serve as an educational trail for schools and clubs interested in wildlife.
       

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