Groundbreaking signals beginning of development for new Kenton County Administration Building nkytribune.com /2017/09/groundbreaking-signals-beginning-of-development-of-new-kenton-countyadministration-building/
By Mark Hansel NKyTribune managing editor The official groundbreaking for the new Kenton County Administration Building, to be built on the former Bavarian Brewery site in Covington, took place Monday afternoon. Kenton County Judge/Executive Kris Knochelmann was joined by members of the Fiscal Court and other elected officials, as well as community stakeholders from throughout Northern Kentucky. “On behalf of the entire Kenton County Fiscal Court, I want to thank you and welcome you to this huge event,” Knochelmann said. “About 50 years ago, the groundbreaking probably occurred for the existing County Administration Courthouse. Our hope is that whatever we do here in the next year sets us up for at least maybe 75 years before the next groundbreaking.” Almost three years ago, county officials began examining what it would take to renovate the existing administration building at 303 Court Street.
Kenton County Judge/Executive Kris Knochelmann at Monday’s groundbreaking. Knochelmann praised the collaborative effort that made the development of the new administration building possible (photos by Mark Hansel). Click to enlarge.
It was estimated that it would cost about $22 million for the county to make the extensive renovations needed to update the structure. Even with renovations, the building was not a good long-term fit. There was no onsite parking and half of the structure remains unoccupied. The county began negotiating for the Bavarian site on Martin Luther King Boulevard in the Twelfth Street corridor, just east of Interstate 75. The building most recently housed the Jillian’s night club, but has been largely vacant for years. The county purchased the Bavarian site for $4.5 million from the property’s owners, Columbia Sussex, and reached a $24.9 million development agreement with a team led by Turner Construction Company. Other members of the development team include Brandstetter Carroll Inc., SFA Architects Inc., THP Limited Inc., Al Neyer and Urban Sites to develop the Bavarian site. “We have been through this past year of vetting contractors, teams…and Turner came out on top,” Knochelmann said. “What’s unique is that if this past year is any indication of working with (this team), we are going to end up celebrating in January of 2019 with a Courthouse and County Administration Building that we are all going to be 1/3