By Patrick Crowley
Enquirer staff writer

BELLEVUE - Bellevue Independent School officials were happy when a recent property reassessment generated an additional $23,000 in tax revenue for the district.

They are downright ecstatic over the estimated $500,000 the district could receive as a result of a $90 million boom in upscale housing planned in this Campbell County city along the Ohio River.

"School districts have been in dire straits in Kentucky," said Bellevue Board of Education member Ken Wendel, a former city council member.

"Anything that helps us deal with that is great, but when you're talking about a potential increase of hundreds of thousands of dollars, well, that's just wonderful."

The Bellevue schools' 2003 budget was about $4.3 million, including $1.2 million in property tax. So if the four planned developments are built, property tax receipts could grow by nearly 50 percent.

"That's great for the schools, and it's exciting for the city," said Bellevue Councilman Tom Ratterman.

"Because helping the schools increases the quality of life in our community.

"I'm excited about this as a city official, but as a parent who will send two children to the Bellevue schools, I'm very happy about the future of our public school system," Ratterman said.

The four projects are:

• Harbor Greene, an $80 million, mixed-use development on the city's riverfront and just east of the Port Bellevue restaurant district. Along with office and commercial space, the project includes $50 million in luxury condominiums.

• HHB Partners plans 24 riverfront condos farther east on the Ohio River at Eden and Taylor avenues in a project estimated at $20 million.

• A $10 million project at Ross and Lake streets that will include town houses with views of the Cincinnati skyline.

• City View, a $7 million project on an O'Fallon Avenue hillside that also offers views of the Ohio River valley.

Construction has started at Harbor Greene and City View. Work on the other two is set to start later this year or early next year. That means money won't start flowing to the schools for at least a couple of years. And how much money will flow remains uncertain.

The market for high-end residential real estate can be tricky. Rising interest rates, the economy and other factors could impact future sales or development plans.

But city officials feel confident the projects will generate most if not all of the money anticipated.

E-mail pcrowley@enquirer.com