RIVERCENTER & ROEBLING POINT PREPARED FOR NEW OPPORTUNITY

by Michael Monks

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Covington city leaders cut ribbon at new
RiverCenter plaza

Covington's signature office buildings are ready for new tenants following a multi-million dollar renovation to RiverCenter's plaza. The city is just weeks removed from news that rattled Covington leaders, that Omnicare is bolting for tax payer-subsidized office space in Cincinnati and that the Nielsen Company will likely follow suit. Those hundreds of employees will take with them nearly $1.5 million in payroll taxes and will leave behind vacant office space throughout RiverCenter I & II and Madison Place. But whoever moves in to take Omnicare's place in the RiverCenter towers will be greeted with a renovated plaza complete with new pavement and landscaping.

"Maybe there will be more energy, more outdoor dining," said Mayor Pro-Tem Sherry Carran at Thursday afternoon's ribbon-cutting ceremony to unveil the new plaza. "We want this to be a destination gathering place for this part of Covington."

"The repairs were a long time coming," said Bob Fessler of Corporex, developer and tenant of the towers. "We have a new front door to RiverCenter and a new front door to Covington." Corporex is tasked with showing the vacant space to businesses that may locate there. "It's a first impression for visitors and for potential tenants," Fessler continued. "Impressions are very important when you try to lease office space. It's important that we lead with our best foot and now this plaza lets us do that."

The improvements to the plaza are part of a larger plan that include the currently-in-progress upgrades to the city-owned garage underneath. City engineer Tom Logan told the crowd assembled on RiverCenter Boulevard that the when completed, the newly updated garage will be operated by state-of-the-art equipment. Logan was also proud of city employees' role in designing and building the tropical themed landscaping saying that it disproves a stereotype that city workers lack creativity.

City Manager Larry Klein took time to thank the employees in the towers who dealt with a long construction process. "Whether businesses come or go, we hope they remain patrons of our businesses," Klein siad. Avenue Lounge Manager RJ Caldwell helped the city craft a special coupon for workers in the towers to receive discounts at restaurants and bars on Madison Avenue, Mainstrasse and at Roebling Point.

ROEBLING POINT BUSINESSES WORK TOGETHER TO GROW

"I'm concerned when we lose jobs," said Bill Rowland, owner of Sidebar on Greenup Street at Roebling Point. "It may not be that (Omnicare employees) were all customers, but our customers will feel it."

"I have faith in Covington, they'll fill those offices," said Emily Hoyt of Keystone Bar & Grill, also at Roebling Point. The unity among businesses in that commercial district at the foot of the Roebling Suspension Brudge remains strong. Following Thursday's ribbon cutting, the Roebling Point Business Association hosted a Talk & Tour in which representatives from each business along with interested customers visit each establishment and chat about what's going on.

"We want people to visit every place in the neighborhood," said Rowland. "It may be music with me, food at Keystone, the whole Irish thing at Molly Malone's. We have one rule: to have fun." Rowland lives in Adams County and commutes 65 miles each way, but says that when he went looking for a bar to buy he searched in Downtown Cincinnati and in Milford but that he fell in love with Covington and Sidebar's building. Much of the produce he uses is grown on his Adams County property.

As for Keystone, Hoyt says the bar & grill known for its mac-n-cheese dishes has had its best year yet. The owners plan to open a second Keystone in Hyde Park on November 11 (or 11/11/11).

Roebling Point businesses include Sidebar, Down Under, Blinkers, Keystone, Molly Malone's and Roebling Point Bookstore. Check out "Halloween Beerfest - Nightmare on Park Street" from 4PM to 1AM. Tickets are $20.