COMMUNITY RECORDER
Your Community Recorder newspaper serving Northern Kenton County
THURSDAY, AUGUST 25, 2016
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BECAUSE COMMUNITY MATTERS
CTI move to Covington means 750 jobs for city Melissa Stewart mstewart@communitypress.com
COVINGTON – Global clinical trials firm CTI will move its headquarters to Covington. Its $36.4 million investment is projected to create up to 500 jobs over 10 years. In addition, 250 jobs will move from Blue Ash, CTI's current home office. “We are thrilled for CTI to be starting a new chapter at RiverCenter,” said CTI chief executive officer Timothy Schroeder. “We feel that this location will be a state-of-theart headquarters for our staff, enabling collaboration and innovation. This site allows us to retain and grow the most talented team in the industry who are helping develop some of the most innovative lifechanging therapies.” CTI Clinical Trial and Consulting Services is a privately held company providing therapeutic expertise to the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries. CTI will lease about 125,000 square feet in the RiverCenter complex. The lease is for 15 years. In addition, a portion of space at the Northern Kentucky Convention Center will be turned into a training center that will not only serve CTI, but also convention center clients and the greater community. "Working with Kentucky Cabinet for Economic Development, NKY TriED, Corporex, the City of Covington, Kenton County, and NKU, our board of directors has agreed to convert 5,300 square feet of space in Ballroom A on the upper level of the Convention Center into a 466-seat, stateof-the-art training center," center executive director Gretchen Landrum said.
The training center, which will be operated by the Convention Center, will include a two-story digital wall that can display a wide combination of videos, images, and graphics; seminar seating with retractable desktops; and state-ofthe-art technology. Construction of the training center, which is expected to cost between $2 million and $3 million and funded by the state, is projected to start in November 2017 and be finished during the first quarter of 2018. During a special meeting Wednesday, the Kentucky Economic Development Finance Authority preliminarily approved CTI for tax incentives up to $14 million based on its investment. The 500 jobs will be added over the agreement’s 10-year at an average salary of $40 an hour including benefits. The incentive agreement is through the Kentucky Business Investment program, a performance-based incentive. Through the program, a company can keep a portion of its investment over the agreement term through corporate income tax credits and wage assessments by meeting job and investment targets. Covington Mayor Sherry Carran said Riverfront Commons, an 11-mile public walkand-bikeway connecting multiple Northern Kentucky cities, played a role in the company’s move. “We are thrilled over CTI’s announcement,” she said. “The collaboration between Northern Kentucky’s three counties and the positive energy between our river cities around the Riverfont Commons Project highlighted a See JOBS, Page 2A
PHOTOS BY MARTY WHITACRE FOR THE COMMUNITY RECORDER
From left, Michelle Dunn of Burlington, Chase Vossmeyer of Villa Hills and Brooke Ashcraft of Burlington portray Belle Boyd spies in period clothing during the annual Battery Hooper Civil War Days.
Battery Hooper Days: A walk through history
The James A. Ramage Civil War Museum hosted Battery Hooper Civil War Days last weekend. Battery Hooper Days included enactments, bringing Civil War soldiers, hospital workers and presidential candidates out of history and into life. Demonstrations of cannon loading and surgeons at a mock field hospital allowed people to walk into history.
Erlanger still discussing overpass revitalization Melissa Stewart mstewart@communitypress.com
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Timothy J. Schroeder is founder and CEO of CTI Clinical Trial and Consulting Services. The company announced on Aug. 15, it would move its headquarters to Covington from Blue Ash.
CH@TROOM Tips to those starting college. 8A
The 5th Ohio Light Artillery fires a cannon during the annual Battery Hooper Civil War Days on Aug. 21 in Fort Wright.
ERLANGER – Erlanger leaders are in discussion about revitalization of the Norfolk Southern Railroad overpass on Dixie Highway. The mayor and City Council are looking into options to spruce up the overpass area, including its steel bridge and concrete abutments. Some options were discussed at the Aug. 16 committee meeting. “There has been a lot of excitement and a lot of different ideas,” Mayor Tyson Hermes said. “I want to clarify that at this stage we’re just trying to develop information to present something to council.” Erlanger has $350,000 allocated for the project which, ac-
FROM FARM TO TABLE Tomato season yields the freshest of pasta sauces. 6A
cording to Hermes, breaks down as $150,000 for painting; $100,000 to stop some leakage on the concrete abutments; and $100,000 for permits and any traffic interruption. According to Hermes, money was allocated in the budget to show the railroad and the Kentucky Department of Transportation the city is serious about the project. Hermes said the city has repeatedly requested that the railroad improve the bridge’s esthetics, but that they refuse. Legally, the railroad is responsible for a sound structure, but doesn’t have to keep up the appearance. The thought process, Hermes said, is if it paints this bridge, then it will have to paint all the bridges it owns. The Kentucky Department
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of Transportation, Hermes said, is responsible for the concrete abutments and could possibly share in costs with the city to fix the leakage. The city is attempting to push the project forward, he said. Councilwoman Renee Skidmore suggested the city consider following in the footsteps of Fairfield, Ohio, where a facade was built to essentially block an overpass from sight. “That cost them them about $75,000,” she said. “It looks great. The facade is separate from the bridge and creates an optical illusion.” Hermes said another alternative would be to place a banner over the steel bridge. A banner would come at a signifiSee OVERPASS, Page 2A
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