IRS Site Redevelopment

Ripe for redevelopment, a recently closed, sprawling Internal Revenue Service processing site in downtown Covington, Kentucky, was acquired by the City of Covington and Covington Economic Development Authority. Spanning approximately 23 acres, the site offers a once-in-a-century opportunity for the City to create a new, mixed-use activity center along its riverfront. Covington's main goals are to (1) spark economic development to offset $1.2 million in payroll tax revenue lost when the IRS left, and (2) integrate the site with the surrounding neighborhoods. Located within the Covington Central Riverfront District, near the Northern Kentucky Convention Center, and just the River across from Cincinnati, the site is well-positioned to draw local, regional, and national activity.

Cooper Carry served as the primary consultant for the four-stage visioning process: Investigate, Illuminate, Innovate, and Implement and reached out to DaVinci Development to join the project advisory team to help create a development vision for Covington's site. Serving as the Economic Development Strategy and Public Engagement consultant, DaVinci Development brought a national, objective developer's perspective from outside of the Covington market. We provided a market-based reality check to all phases of the project's scope. Also, DaVinci Development created a strategy to help Covington explore temporary uses to activate the site before and during construction.