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THE RIVER CITY NEWS MORE COVINGTON NEWS THAN ANY OTHER SOURCE
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by Michael Monks
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The Catalytic Development Funding Corporation of Northern Kentucky has secured its goal of $10 million for investors that will be used to leverage up to $100 million in real estate development across the NKY river cities, including Covington. The River City News spoke with the Fund's director, Jeanne Schroer, on Friday. "The purpose of the Fund is to create more market rate housing, either single family home ownership or market rate rental," Shroer said, "so it might be a developer wanting to acquire a property and rehab it, and if it's a single family, sell it, or if it's a larger building, that they could adapt for a multifamily or retail site."
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The Fund was created four years ago and Schroer said that the criteria placed on it was that it must raise $10 million from private investors in order to move forward. That money will be available to potential developers who meet all the requirements set forth by the Fund. "These aren't small business loans," she said.
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"Having a pool of investment capital that can be used to provide financing for real estate projects in the five urban cities of Northern Kentucky, that's the main focus, but then other activities are to provide technical assistance for real estate development or to finance developers who want to develop properties in this location or to the cities as needed if there's a special transaction they are working on and may need some help with financial restructuring of it. Another activity is providing research and a comprehensive database of resources that you have all in one place, all the information you might need to know about incentives to develop properties, or what properties might be available, and market data."
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The Fund will soon have a proper website available for more information. As for the future impact it may have on the region, Schroer suggests that the possible real estate developments will create a positive ripple effect across the river cities. "When you have additional residents living in the urban areas then that starts supporting amenities that our resident would like to have, (such as) access to retail, types of things that serve neighborhoods," she said. "It would be a way to create a lot of economic development opportunities for the existing residents of cities. It's a huge amount of potential."
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Schroer is not working alone on the Fund. Covington Mayor Chuck Scheper is Vice Chairman, a position he held before being appointed mayor late last year. "He was one of the people who initiated or thought of the concept for the catalytic fund," she said. "The mayor thing, we never anticipated that when all this was being created, so (the Fund) was something he always intended to be actively involved in."
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| Mayor Chuck Scheper |
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When and where the potential projects take place is yet to be determined. "We've been studying different locations and I know I have certain areas that have high a degree of potential but that will be driven by developers," Schroer said.
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