News

Yet another unique restaurant in The Cov, OLLA Taqueria Gutierrez, opened on West M.L. King Jr. Blvd. in June.

Amid massive challenges, Covington moved forward in 2021

COVINGTON, Ky. – As an exclamation, the phrase “What a year!” can, alternately, ooze vibes both negative and positive.

… so it was during 2021 in the City of Covington.

The year that just passed posed challenges galore, from Brood X cicadas to the variants Delta and Omicron, from the daily fight for survival for small retailers and restaurants to pain-in-the-bottleneck traffic jams caused by one year-long bridge project that finally ended (Brent Spence) and another year-long bridge project that is dragging on and on and on (John A. Roebling’s namesake).

At the same time, the daily work of the City moved forward with exciting plans to “skill up” residents with two new trades programs … long-awaited new life for the Latonia Shopping Center and other massive office and commercial rehab projects … a radical transformation and new philosophy for the riverfront … new businesses and jobs … progress on a new dog park … and validation in the form of four independent awards for City-driven initiatives and services.

City Hall informational bulletins over the last year (SUBSCRIBE!) have chronicled these developments blow by blow, but even engaged readers might not recognize the collective impact. Even though it’s almost February, we think it’s important to recap the year in The Cov.

(And yes, it’s long, but then we were BUSY):

SKILLS & TRADES: Wanting to “skill up” its workforce and help the construction industry fill a desperate need for skilled employees, the City announced plans to help set up two new training programs. One – a formal school open to both teens and adults – will focus on teaching mainstream trades, such as carpentry, welding, electricity, HVAC, plumbing. The other – which initially will be taught in a workshop format – will focus on so-called restoration trades, specialized skills needed to work on historic buildings (with their stained-glass windows, slate-shingled roofs, and wagon-wheel porch molding). The City’s partner in both is the Enzweiler Building Institute. ETA is late May for the restoration workshops and autumn for the construction trades classes.

MOMENTUM, MEASURED: In an article titled “Despite pandemic, momentum,” the City in April told the world about its 2020 performance in a glossy, 8-page first-in-a-long-time economic development report. The numbers were astounding: In 2020, The Cov announced the pending creation of 2,100 new jobs and private capital investment of $85.6 million, including an array of national and regional HQs.

CRANES & GROWTH: Meanwhile, 2021 saw that momentum continue. At the end of the year, the City reported the creation of an additional 1,641 jobs and $57.5 million in capital investment. Among the new announcements, continued renovations, workforce expansions, ribbon-cuttings etc.:

• Expansions: Almost 1,400 new jobs as part of three expansions announced at Fidelity Investments … 20 new jobs at Rizzo Bros. painting.
• Office: Completion of the $11.3MM new home for DBL Law … the ongoing renovation of the former Two Rivers Middle School into modern office space for the global HQ for branding and marketing firm DeanHouston+ and others … completion of the renovated new HQ for First Financial … the $3.3MM renovation for the new HQ of M&M Service Station … the ongoing $1MM renovation of the former Heringer Meats Building for retail and apartments … the $4.8MM renovation of offices in the six-story Republic Bank building (plus a rooftop restaurant and bar) … the $7-8MM renovation of the Latonia Plaza II for Blair Technology Group and ReGadget (see below).
• Housing: Partial demolition of the 10-story 303 Court St. office tower as it becomes The Hayden, a $31.4MM high-rise apartment building … design, site prep, and/or construction of the 132-unit Elevation 800 apartment complex on Highland Avenue, the 267-unit Tapestry Ridge complex overlooking the river, and the 27.7-acre Park Pointe housing complex on a shared border with Fort Wright … pending renovation of the Cambridge Square Apartments and The Colony senior living apartments … hundreds of new homes as part of the ongoing expansion of the Tuscany subdivision off 3L Highway.
• Mixed use: Ongoing work (and a new turret) for the $22.5MM rehab at Pike and Madison that will create office space and a Hotel Covington expansion … completion of the $1.9MM renovation of the “Pickle Factory” into boutique short-term rentals and an unfinished “bourbon experience” … ongoing work on the $36MM John R. Green apartment, commercial and office project.

IRS SITE: Behind-the-scenes work continued on the 23 acres downtown that used to house the IRS processing facility. City officials are about to issue a contract to demolish and salvage the site and address its environmental challenges. Earlier in the year, the City hired a third-party project manager – the global multi-disciplinary consulting firm J.S. Held – to oversee the complicated and time-intensive work of preparing the site for development, including helping to manage and coordinate the project’s budget, schedule, safety, contracts, compliance, demolition, and construction. Next up: Cranes and bulldozers.

BREAKTHROUGH IN LATONIA: After decades of frustration, the transformation of the long-beleaguered retail center along Winston Highway known as the “Latonia shopping center” is fully underway – and the excitement is spreading. Covtech Investments LLC bought the former Value City Furniture and Burlington Coat Factory big-box space (about 200,000 square feet) in 2020 and – with help from the City – spent 2021 turning that space into a hub for computer refurbishing and other high-tech work. Meanwhile, the transition accelerated when another group of local investors called Latonia Commerce LLC bought the remaining northern half of the center (about 116,000 square feet). It plans a mix of uses (office, e-commerce and retail), including the home of the construction trades program described above. Latonia Commerce also bought 8 acres of land behind the center zoned for industrial development. Stay tuned …

SMALL BUSINESS MILESTONE: Covington’s reputation for helping its small businesses went global this past autumn when a City financial assistance program was given a prestigious award by the International Economic Development Council, the world’s largest council of development professionals. A week later, the program – which helps businesses with first-year rent and exterior improvements – reached a milestone when it funded its 100th project in The Cov since 2017. Of those projects, one-third were owned by women, minorities, or military veterans.

BUSINESS COACHING: Speaking of small businesses, Covington strengthened its support system for entrepreneurs and others with the opening in May of a full-time office on Pike Street staffed by Lisa Brann of the Kentucky Small Business Development Center. Recognizing the value of the office’s no-cost coaching, consulting, advising, counseling, and training, the City renewed its contract with Kentucky SBDC and required recipients of various pandemic relief programs to work with the agency. By year’s end, over 150 clients had been helped.

NEW TOOL: Having the right tool for the job can make all the difference in the world, so when the City realized it needed a better tool to encourage the rehab of vacant, historic buildings into move-in commercial space, it created one. For taxpayers, the beauty of the Vacant Property incentive is that it is performance based – property owners are reimbursed a portion of payroll tax revenues paid by tenants they bring into renovated space. By year’s end, the new tool was helping several projects come to fruition.

ZONING: Architects, developers, and rehabbers have praised the City for replacing its rigid and unwieldy zoning ordinance with a more flexible and user-friendly Neighborhood Development Code. In 2021, Covington officials received further affirmation – this time, a formal acknowledgement – of the new code’s ease, efficiency, and innovation: The Special Merit Award for Outstanding Project/Program/Tool from the Kentucky chapter of the American Planning Association.

KEEPIN’ IT REAL: It makes sense, really. A City whose quirky charm is helping to power a new economic energy celebrated National Economic Development Week by creating a set of awards with no rules, vague criteria, and a low-key but fun “ceremony.” That explains what happened last May when City staff dropped in Publisher’s Clearinghouse Style to give the first-annual “Authenti-CITY Awards” to five places, events, people, organizations etc. that make The Cov the most authentically cool city in the Tri-State. The winners: the family-owned Gutierrez Deli … the weird-as-all-get-out Hail Records & Oddities retail shop … Hub+Weber’s annual “Badminton Brawl” tournament in the bricked plaza in front of its Russell Street office … the Covington Street Hockey League and its community engagement … and the high-fashion pageantry and haute couture of Covington resident Ron Padgett. Quirk, y’all.

LA ONDA NUEVA: City Hall wanted to make a point: The face of The Cov is changing. So to honor National Hispanic Heritage month in September, the City released a 2,200-word report that touched on the many ways that changing demographics have created a pulse – a liveliness that some call la onda nueva – that continues to intensify throughout Covington. Among the evidence for that new pulse are new taquerias, cantinas, and bodegas … increasing Census and school enrollment numbers for what the government variously calls “Hispanic” or “Latino” … and new programs and services by local community agencies. The report was written, City officials say, both to educate and celebrate the diversity of Covington. Later in the year, Mayor Joe Meyer was the keynote speaker before regional leaders at a fund-raising dinner for the Esperanza Latino Center, a nonprofit resource center in Covington.

A BRAND-NEW RIVERFRONT: Last summer saw the grand opening of the $6.5 million Covington Plaza on the banks of the Ohio River between Greenup Street and Madison Avenue. It features two hiking and biking trails that link to the six-city Riverfront Commons trail system, two overlooks, canoe and kayak access, and a 1,350-seat amphitheater and event area. The project represents not only a dramatic physical transformation but also a core shift in Covington’s relationship with its riverfront and a new philosophy of public access. Almost immediately, the amphitheater was used for everything from a three-day taco festival to the weekly Luv The Cov Concert Series to live theater performances by The Carnegie.

STORM WATER: Intensifying its focus on addressing public health problems and erosion damage caused by rain runoff, aka storm water, the City continued to implement its new management of what’s called the MS4 program. A big step was a survey of residents to get a better sense of where basement flooding problems have happened in the past. Also in 2021, the City cut by 10 percent the month stormwater fee it inherited from SD1, began adding Public Works staff to oversee the physical work, and hired a consultant to help it adhere to federal Clean Water Act regulations.

BRIDGE SHUTDOWNS: Two state-mandated bridge maintenance and repair projects caused havoc for city streets and small businesses on opposite sides of Covington throughout 2021. To the west, lane reductions on the Brent Spence caused by a massive painting and maintenance project lasted from March 1 into November and clogged streets with interstate travelers and local commuters trying to avoid the backups. It was, in a word, a mess that forced City leaders to adjust parking and traffic routes. Meanwhile, to the east, the historic Roebling Suspension Bridge was closed to one lane of traffic in January 2021 and completely closed a month later for a restoration project that – at year’s end – had blown way past its expected finish times. The prolonged closure – especially on the heels of several similar closures in the past few years – continues to devastate establishments in the Roebling Point district.

BRENT SPENCE: It’s a discussion that has lasted decades: How to alleviate the traffic that continues to overwhelm the bridge between Covington and Cincinnati that carries 80,000 to 100,000 vehicles a day across the Ohio River along Interstates 71/75. After years of expressing concerns about the current plan for a massive companion bridge that would devastate the city, the Covington Board of Commissioners went on record in a big way with an op-ed in March 2021 that called the plan “fatally flawed.” The publication set off reverberations that saw Mayor Joe Meyer invited to a KET panel and interviewed by media outlets from New York to Washington to Tokyo to Switzerland. Meanwhile, toward the end of the year, President Biden insisted that his infrastructure investment plan approved by Congress contained enough money for Ohio and Kentucky officials to build the $2.7 billion project without having to toll drivers. (Gov. Andy Beshear continued that commitment in his proposed budget unveiled in early 2022.)

NEW DIGS FOR PUBLIC WORKS: The job of turning vacant warehouse-like space on Russell Street into the new home for Covington’s Public Works Department was turned over to Radius Construction, a job that is ongoing and should be finished soon. A separate but related contract resulted in a new road salt dome. 

ROAD WORK: Cranes and bulldozers hired by the State highway department were a common sight in Covington, with the completion of a new 11th street pedestrian bridge over the railroad tracks between Madison Avenue and Russell Street and continuing work on the long-awaited $8.5 million realignment of Hands Pike in South Covington.

‘GOVERNMENT OF THE YEAR’: Outside, independent, and third-party affirmation is always rewarding. So naturally it felt good when the 370-member Kentucky League of Cities in August named Covington its “City Government of the Year.” The KLC called the City “a great example of a community and local leaders who constantly reinvent and re-image” and said Covington exemplified both “innovation and quality governance.” The award will be officially presented Feb. 18, 2022, during a reception for City volunteers.

PROFESSIONALISM PERSONIFIED: Similarly, the Covington Police Department in November reached rare company when it – again – passed an internationally recognized independent organization’s rigorous, years’ long assessment of Covington’s professionalism, policies, leadership, and standards. Covington was first accredited by what’s known as CALEA in 2017 and remains one of only three police agencies in Kentucky to earn that status. “This award of accreditation does not come easy,” CALEA’s national president said.

NEW LEADERSHIP: Changes in the workforce have always been a fact of life, and this decade has seen the pace of workplace arrivals and departures accelerate around the country. Entering 2022, Covington has a new city manager (Ken Smith), assistant city manager (Joy Pierson), Neighborhood Services director (Brandon Holmes) and assistant director (Keith Bales), City clerk (Susan Ellis), Human Resources director (Cindy Lewis), assistant chief in the Police Department (Justin Wietholter), deputy chief of operations in the Fire Department, (Michael Bloemer), assistant chiefs in charge of EMS (Gary Rucker) and Fire Department training (Corey Deye), and assistant communication manager (Vicki Prichard).

NEW WEB TOOLS: The ongoing mission? Make local government more open and more user friendly. Toward that end, the City did several things in 2021: In November, it added data sets on economic development incentives, rental license distribution, and road/street conditions to the immense amount of information available online. In July, it created an online search tool that allows users to zero in on a particular address and explore zoning regulations that govern it. And in March, it moved applications for rental licenses online for both long-term and short-term rental situations. With the help of Covington business Systems Insight, it also unveiled a revised website with a smart new look, engaging personality, and improved functionality.

RIPPLE: The area known as the Botany Hills Urban Junction (at Highway Avenue and Altamont Road) will look different in the coming years, thanks to a joint private-public program known as The RIPPLE Effect. The neighborhood-oriented project “won” $200,000 in publicly funded infrastructure improvements as well as focused application of City services after a competitive process. The City wrote about the Botany Hills project as well as the first Ripple Effect project at the Pike Street bend in Lewisburg.

GOING GREEN: The Solid Waste & Recycling team at the City partnered with groups like Keep Covington Beautiful and Rumpke Waste & Recycling in in 2021 for an array of innovative, taking-it-to-the-next-level initiatives to reduce landfill waste and save the environment, including an energized cigarette litter campaign … the recycling of pizza boxes … e-waste collection … the collection of “dead” Christmas lights (592 lbs.) and trees (213) … free vouchers at the trash transfer station … and expanded plastic tub recycling. We’re told more is in store in 2022.

GRANTS: From park benches to solar lampposts to a trash can shaped for pizza boxes, the City funded seven neighborhood projects in 2021. Associations in Austinburg, Peaselburg, Latonia, Monte Casino, Old Seminary Square Village, and Wallace Woods each received funding for their small improvement projects. And there’s more to come. Applications for another round of projects are currently under consideration.

PUBLIC WI-FI: January 2021 saw the last of the “hotspots” installed for Covington Connect, an aggressive, collaborative effort to smash the digital divide in Covington. The initiative began during the height of the pandemic and has two parts – helping students and their families access the Internet for free and giving away 1,000 free computers. The goal is both to support distance learning for students and to expand access to education and economic opportunities and health care for families. The numbers are impressive: To date, 15,202 residents are enrolled, with nearly 632,000 total “sessions” with each averaging 67 minutes. Partners include Cincinnati Bell, the Housing Authority of Covington, Renaissance Covington, local computer firms Blair Technology Group and ReGadget, and Comp-U-Dot, a Houston-based nonprofit.

HEALTH & SAFETY: The evolution of the City division that works to protect residents’ health and safety and preserve property values continued in 2021 when Code Enforcement went from part- to full-time staff and elevated its training and expertise to new levels. It also got TV coverage for the gas monitors inspectors now carry and could save lives with.

DOG PARK: After ranking high in a 2019 Parks & Rec 10-year master plan survey, Covington’s first designated dog park will become a reality. Demolition began in January 2022 on a 1½ acre complex next to Kenny Shields Park at Ninth and Philadelphia streets. A community engagement event at Goebel Park in 2021 let residents talk about the features they wanted.

LATONIA RENOVATION: After $300,000 in upgrades, Barb Cook Park was filled with kids every day and celebrated with a grand re-opening in April. A new shelter for picnics, colorful new play equipment, grill, picnic tables, a walking path, and more bring new energy to the park named for a longtime Latonia advocate.

Putting the “… of the people, by the people, for the people” philosophy into practice, the City reached out to residents throughout the year to get their input on important issues and proposed projects:

• EASTERN CORRIDOR: Economic development staff moved to Austinburg Neighborhood Park for a day to talk jobs, business activity, and local investment in the “Eastern Corridor” – with a little family-friendly fun to liven up the event.
• BRIDGE GATEWAY: Because first impressions matter, the City hosted a drop-by event at MainStrasse Village’s Goose Girl Fountain to discuss how to create an inviting “front door” at the Clay Wade Bailey Bridge Gateway.
• PARK UPDATE: Parks & Rec asked neighbors to get their mental “vision board” ready to help make plans to make Austinburg Neighborhood Park a better place to gather and play, as part of the ongoing neighborhood park redevelopment schedule.
• STREET TREES: The City asked for feedback on its urban canopy, aka a master plan for public trees. Covington has been named a Tree City USA for 16 years, and of course trees impact all range of things, from clean air to academic success.
• ARPA: What to do with $35.9 million? Over the last five months, the City solicited input from residents and businesses about how to invest the Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery ARPA Funds to create high impact on neighborhoods and City services and strengthen the City’s finances for the long term. Recently, the Board of Commissioners allocated those funds to general categories, or “buckets.”
• DAY TO DAY: Back in 2018, we started asking: how can the City best interact with residents and businesses? We still want to know. The ongoing Customer Satisfaction Survey continues to help us evaluate ourselves. 

The ongoing pandemic – and in particular the rise of the Delta and Omicron variants – continued to pose challenges and dominate the daily conversation in Covington, much like the world. Here at City Hall, daily operations, special programs, and decisions changed and evolved, all year long:

• OUTDOOR DINING: A special program to help restaurants and bars that temporarily created additional outdoor dining and drinking areas in public spaces – including parking spaces, alleys, and medians – was extended several times.
• VAX: “Moderna,” “Pfizer” and “Johnson & Johnson” became buzzwords when vaccination accessibility went mainstream at the convention center (2,400 shots by the 4th day), bringing a visit and praise from Gov. Andy Beshear. The City sponsored vaccination events in the Eastside and at Esperanza to help vulnerable populations, and another event attracted retired Bengals football players.
• SWIM SEASON: After being closed in 2020, City pools reopened and made a big splash. The 2021 season saw 1,275 households with 4,500 individuals registered for free passes and an additional 12,000 guest passes. About 90 percent of the teenagers working at Covington pools lived in the city. And there were swim lessons, free lunches served on weekdays, and a season-ending “dog swim.”
• POSITIVE TESTS: The business of serving the public continued, even as an array of City officials and workers came down with the virus and were hospitalized or quarantined at home, including Mayor Joe Meyer, City Manager Ken Smith and others.
• TESTING SITE: The City allowed the massive parking lots of the former IRS site to be used for free, drive-up testing, first by the Kentucky Department of Homeland Security and later (and currently) by Gravity Diagnostics, the Covington-based lab that has gained national publicity for its work. What a public service.
• OPEN MEETINGS: At various times, things went virtual as City Hall closed its doors to in-person visits from the public and the weekly Board of Commission meetings were no longer held in person. Both City Hall and the Commission chambers are now open, but you need to wear a mask.
• EVENTS: In attempts to return (even partially) to so-called normal life, several popular Citywide events returned in 2021, albeit with changes and reduced participation, including River Sweep … Great American Cleanup … and NKY Pride and tree plantings and more plantings.

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Thanks for reading this far. And trust us – based on the January we just experienced – the “review” next year will be even more interesting.

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City of Covington

John Kennedy sells paint for a living. He’s also a matchmaker, confidante, and sounding board.

From behind the counter of B&E Decorating near Ritte’s Corner in Latonia, Kennedy oversees a widespread network of sorts consisting of contractors and homeowners who funnel through his small store buying paint and seeking connections.

These days, that network seethes with frustration.

“Every day I hear it, from painters, plumbers, general contractors, carpenters, and drywallers – no matter what the trade, they all need help, desperately,” Kennedy said. “And because the small contractors are dying for help, the homeowners who want to hire them have found that the pool of people they can hire has shrunk, badly. And if I can match them up, what used to take two to three weeks for the work to start now takes two to three months.”

The Enzweiler Building Instittue which teaches essential construction trades like plumbing is opening a Latonia campus this fall.

Kennedy’s assessment rings true as yet another shred of evidence that all points to this: A new construction trades school planned in the Latonia neighborhood can’t open soon enough.

Whether you measure the urgency by Facebook chatter, national stats, pleas for help from contractors, underemployed heads of households, jobless high school graduates, delayed construction schedules, or the construction labor pool gap, it’s clear that the need for the joint venture is intense:

Since the City of Covington announced the project in a news release last month, a Facebook post linking to that release has been “shared” from the City’s site almost 2,000 times, been seen by 200,000 people, and been visible on a computer or phone’s screen almost a quarter of a million times.

Meanwhile, a national industry association estimates that almost 1.3 million more construction workers will be needed by 2023.

And local contractors and builders interviewed for this article say that – given the current workforce environment – they can’t keep up with people who need houses rebuilt, renovated, and restored.

It’s in this marketplace that the City is partnering with the Building Industry Association of Northern Kentucky (BIA-NKY) to create a Covington campus of the association’s heralded Enzweiler Building Institute.

Slated to open in September 2022, the school will train both high school students and adults in some of the industry’s most in-demand trades, including carpentry, welding, electricity, HVAC, and plumbing. The goal – as seen HERE — is part of the City’s long-term strategy to skill up its local workforce and not only improve individual household income but also help the construction industry fill a critical need.

Dr. Vicki Berling, the Director of Professional Development for BIA-NKY who manages the Building Institute, said she’s approached daily by employers seeking skilled workers.

“Every week – honestly, typically every day – employers reach out to me to ask if we have any available workers in the skilled trades,” Berling said. “This is across all of the fields we train for, but I especially hear from employers who are looking for carpentry-related skills or construction laborers as well as a constant request for workers in electric. Virtually all our current students are already working in the field, so clearly the demand exceeds our current ability to fill the jobs.”

Anticipation in the industry

Talk to industry leaders, and they say the new school can’t open fast enough:

John Hodge, president of Century Construction: “The new Construction Trades School is a long time coming and will provide excellent opportunities for students and employers … students will no doubt have many job opportunities upon graduation and most likely even before they graduate.”

John Curtin, senior vice president of Hemmer construction: “Right now, manpower in most, if not all, of the trades is in high demand. These are not just short-term jobs – these are careers. Individuals who excel will also have the chance to someday own and manage their own businesses. This is truly exciting and what a great time to get started.”

Brian Miller, Executive Vice President, BIA-NKY: “We’re at a confluence of situations where we have the opportunity to do work to fill that gap and at the same time train people in a great trade where they can have a great career and build wealth early.”

The opportunity for Covington residents is especially high, since 25 percent of seats in any of the school’s classes will be reserved for Covington students and residents up until 30 days before classes start.

The Covington campus will also be the site of the future Restoration Trades seminars and workshops that BIA-NKY is working with the City to establish. Those programs – as seen HERE – will teach specialized skills related to working on historic structures.

Covington officials say the “set-aside” for its residents was key.

“We have a situation where contractors need workers for projects of all sizes and are paying excellent wages to those workers, if they can find them,” said Covington Economic Development Director Tom West. “At the same time, we have residents and students living in Covington who need a living wage and want to do work that matters to them — in some instances, they’re already working two or three part-time jobs just to make ends meet. Our hope is that the Enzweiler Building Institute can help us bring those two together so companies can find the workers they need and our workers can work smarter, not harder, to build solid family income.”

Industry gap

The divide between the industry’s skilled labor pool and available jobs is deep and getting deeper, with an estimated need of at least 60,000 more workers in the Greater Cincinnati market over the next 10 years, Miller said.

“We’re seeing an acceleration of the labor skills gap and we don’t see it slowing down – we’re seeing it widen,” Miller said. “Those are jobs that are the major components of construction – we’re talking carpentry, electric, welding, HVAC. If you stretch that out and look at other fields, the task is massive.”

Tackling that “massive” task to build a new body of talent is twofold: attract individuals to the construction, then educate them. As for the jobs, they’re waiting to be filled.

“Students will no doubt have many job opportunities upon graduation and most likely even before,” Century Construction’s Hodge said.

And that gap exists around the country. The Associated Builders and Contractors, a national industry association, reported in a recent analysis that showed the United States will see a demand for 1.28 million more construction workers by 2023. Other estimates are even higher.

Recruiting workers

The lack of skilled workers hits project schedules and costs hard.

“We are impacted most dramatically on (a job’s) schedule when skilled labor is the issue,” said Hemmer’s Curtin. “Construction is a fast-paced industry and schedule is always one of the critical decision topics when pursuing new projects. Obviously, everyone would like their project completed yesterday, but lack of manpower will dramatically affect each company’s ability to complete their work on a timely basis.”

At Century Construction, Hodge said the impact of the lack of skilled construction has only gotten worse for them. Since 2018, seven longtime employees have retired and two more will retire this year.

Replacing that talent is tough.

“These individuals spent their entire career in the construction industry and cannot be replaced easily,” Hodge said. “The limited availability of workers limits our ability to take on more work and grow the company. It leads to longer completion times on projects and higher prices for our customers.”

To help attract workers, the company has improved its benefits in numerous ways, such as paying annual cash bonuses, increasing raises, and reducing co-pays for medical insurance. Hodge said that entry-level workers, those with essentially no experience, are paid full benefits, including holiday pay, vacation pay, medical insurance, and more.

That even includes reimbursement for tuition – such as the new trades school planned for Latonia.

On the bus route

The school will lease 8,000 square feet of space last occupied by Check Exchange and Rent to Own from Latonia Commerce, LLC, in the strip center adjacent to and north of the former Value City and Burlington Coat Factory big box stores. The location is on a TANK bus route, is close to major transportation routes, and within walking distance of at least some Covington high school students.

Ben Taylor, division president of The Drees Company and BIA-NKY president, said that the school’s location in Latonia will be a key factor in attracting students.

“This location will offer trade education opportunities for the populations in the river cities that may be underserved by the location of the existing Enzweiler Institute in Erlanger,” Taylor said.

Miller agreed that location matters.

“We’re excited about the location in Latonia, being surrounded by people who can tap into this opportunity,” Miller said. “People want to train where they live, especially those without easy access to transportation, and this brings the opportunity home to a location that can benefit the community.”

It’s an industry where skills and hands-on experience is critical.

“Employers want an employee who can actually do the job, and that’s where we step in and connect people who learn by doing with a trade where they can do exceptionally well,” Miller said. “We produce individuals who are going through life without college debt, have a valued trade, are marketable, and are building wealth early in their life. We’re introducing people to a lifelong career that they can take as far as they want.”

The Enzweiler Building Institute (EBI) teaches a variety of skilled construction trades. (Photo courtesy of the EBI)

A new school that teaches construction trades will open next year in Latonia.

The first classes at what the Building Industry Association of Northern Kentucky is calling “the Covington Campus” of its Enzweiler Building Institute (EBI) are scheduled to begin in September 2022, with initial programs focused on carpentry, welding, electricity, HVAC, plumbing, and an Intro to Trades program for high school students.

With 25 percent of the spots in any given class reserved for Covington residents and/or students, officials from the City and the Building Industry Association (BIA) say the school will address four major goals:

The EBI plans to lease 8,000 square feet of space last occupied by Check Exchange and Rent to Own from Latonia Commerce LLC, the group of investors who bought the plaza earlier this year. (The plaza is the strip center adjacent to and north of the former Value City and Burlington Coat Factory big box stores.)

Tuesday night, the Covington Board of Commissioners approved financial support for the school of $200,000 spread over five years, with $60,000 to be awarded in the first year. The money will come from a fund set up to spur economic activity in the city.

City Economic Development Director Tom West said the project was founded on expanding workforce development.

“For several years we have seen the number of skilled workers in the construction trades drop while demand was increasing,” West said. “Investment in this program demonstrates how important it is for Covington residents to develop the skills needed to both improve their future and fuel the economic momentum that will continue through the decade or so as we build out Covington’s Central Riverfront.”

EBI officials said that with Covington’s support established, they are working to finalize the lease for the $1.22 million campus. They are also applying for funds from the Kentucky Workforce Innovation Board and have begun a capital funding campaign is underway to cover any gap in funding. Recruitment of instructors is also underway.

The Associated Builders and Contractors, a national trade organization, estimates the industry will need to hire 430,000 workers in the next year to keep up with demand and 1 million workers over two years.

“The efforts we undertake to deliver skilled construction tradespeople will benefit immensely from the new campus, access to public transit, and proximity to our urban core,” said Brian Miller, Executive Vice President of the BIA of Northern Kentucky. “Neighboring public and parochial high schools are paramount in our ability to attract and retain younger students and help them to onboard into a wonderful career with real livable wage potential in the construction trades.”

West noted that the school is located on a TANK bus route, is close to major transportation routes, and is within walking distance of many Covington high school students.

(Photo courtesy EBI)

A side goal of the program is to foster entrepreneurship, West said. The City will help anybody who completes the program and wants to start their own business, including targeted guidance from Kentucky Small Business Development Center coaches in Covington.

Dr. Vicki Berling, the BIA’s Director of Professional Development who manages the Enzweiler Building Institute, said its focus is results-oriented: efficiently and practically equipping people with the skills they need to obtain good-paying jobs and build sustainable, successful careers that support them and their families. The EBI helps set up and oversee numerous apprenticeships.

“Our programs are designed to prepare people for jobs as quickly as possible,” Berling said. “We know there is a great need for the skilled trades, especially in and around the booming city of Covington.”

Covington Commissioner Ron Washington said owners of several construction firms told him they were so desperate for workers that they’d be willing to pay tuition if it got them skilled employees. “This seems like a win in a lot of ways,” Washington said.

Mayor Joe Meyer, who was Secretary of the Education & Workforce Development Cabinet under former Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear, lauded the focus on improving Covington’s workforce.

“Of all the decisions we’ve made over the last year, none is more important than this one,” Mayor Meyer said. “This gives people who live in Covington a serious opportunity to access a high-demand, high-wage training program.”

City of Covington

COVINGTON – A construction trades school is opening in Latonia as part of the Enzweiler Building Institute. 

COVINGTON, Ky. — A new school that teaches construction trades will open next year in Latonia. The first classes at what the Building Industry Association of Northern Kentucky is calling “the Covington Campus” of its Enzweiler Building Institute are scheduled to begin in September 2022, with initial programs focused on carpentry, welding, electricity, HVAC, plumbing, and an Intro to Trades program for high school students.

With 25 percent of the spots in any given class reserved for Covington residents and/or students, officials from the City and the Building Industry Association (BIA) say the school will address four major goals:

• It will “skill up” Covington’s workforce and target chronic underemployment.
• It will improve urban core residents’ accessibility to skills training offered by the Enzweiler Building Institute (EBI), whose current campus is in Erlanger.
• It will help the construction industry fill a critical need for skilled workers that is estimated at 1 million jobs over the next two years.
• And it will continue the transformation of the Latonia Plaza shopping center, further activating and bringing energy to the long-stagnant strip center along Winston Highway.

About the school:

• Estimated opening: September 2022.
• Enrollment: Applications will be available online at www.buildinginstitute.com. Interested parties can also contact Dr. Vicki Berling at (859) 640-4294 for more information.
• Completion: Program certificates take one to four years to obtain, depending upon the skill.
• Estimated tuition: From $2,625 to $3,775 per academic year, depending upon the program and what year a student is in. Scholarships will be available, and “KEES scholarships” (based on high school grades, issued through the Kentucky Higher Education Assistance Authority) can be used for select programs.
• Programs: Intro to the Trades, electric, HVAC, plumbing, welding, and carpentry, although offerings can be adjusted based on workforce needs. Instruction will be heavy on hands-on training.
• Schedule: The specific times for individual classes are not yet set, but Miller told the Covington board that daytime classes will be geared toward high school students, and evening classes will be geared toward adults.
• Covington-reserved: 25 percent of spots in any program will be reserved for Covington students and residents up until 30 days before classes start.
• Job placement: Miller said 98 percent of people who complete one of the EBI’s programs either find an immediate job (or entered the program “sponsored” by a company), and 76 percent of them are still working with the same employer two years later.
• Instructors: “We recruit skilled tradespeople and show them how to teach, rather than hire teachers and try to show them the trades,” Miller said.
• Future programs: EBI officials said the Covington Campus will be the site of future Restoration Trades seminars and workshops they are working with the City of Covington to set up. The restoration trades programs will focus on teaches skills related to working on historic structures.

Staff report

It’s the holiday season and time for practical giving. Need to surprise your special someone with a he-shed and she-shed or a playhouse or a storage facility.

The junior and senior high school students in the “Introduction to the Skilled Trades” program at the Building Industry Association’s Enzweiler Building Institute finished this lovely, useful 10′ x 16′ shed just in time for you to check off your wish list.

The program teaches juniors and seniors a wide variety of skills in the building industry and aligns with the Kentucky Career and Technical Education “Building and Apartment Maintenance” curriculum.

The program is heavily rooted in carpentry tasks but provides students with exposure to other career opportunities, including electric, HVAC, plumbing, welding, and masonry.

Students from the four Boone County District high schools and Ludlow High School did the work on this shed.

It is available for sale for the asking price of $2,500 plus the cost of moving it to the intended location.

Best of all — the proceeds from its sale will go back into the program, enabling the students to build another shed in 2022.

Interested parties should contact Ms. Claus, Vicki Berling, at 859-640-4294 or vicki@buildersnky.com. She is director of Professional Development at Enzweiler and will keep your secret ’til Christmas.

The Enzweiler Building Institute was established in 1967 by the Home Builders Association of Northern Kentucky (DBA Building Industry Association of Northern Kentucky). It is licensed by the Kentucky Commission on Proprietary Education to provide eight programs (carpentry, diesel mechanics for construction equipment, electric, facilities maintenance, HVAC, masonry, plumbing and welding) and is approved by the Kentucky Public Protection Cabinet to provide training in electric, heating, venting and air conditioning (HVAC), and plumbing.

And, starting in high school, it trains young students for possible careers in the building industry — and develops practical skills like those used to make this custom shed.

That old saying is true. It’s why old residences in the urban cores of Covington, Newport, Cincinnati, and elsewhere are so treasured.

But it also means that the tradespeople who can skillfully restore, repair, and update these old homes, some of which were constructed 200 years ago, can be hard to find.

It’s why the city of Covington has enlisted partners in the building trades to create a solution to the challenge of preserving historic buildings, and in the bargain, help skill up the local workforce.

The city is planning the Covington Restoration Trades School to teach specialized construction skills and the lost art of historic preservation.

City officials hope to begin the program by June 2022 and have enlisted the help of local and national experts to get it started.

“If we’re successful, Covington could build a uniquely skilled workforce essentially from scratch, create hundreds of jobs for its residents, and assist property owners desperate for trained expertise rehabbing their historic homes,” says Christopher Myers, whose role of regulatory services manager at the city includes oversight of historic preservation.

Chief among Covington’s partners is the Building Industry Association of Northern Kentucky, a non-profit advocacy and membership organization that promotes and advances the needs of the building industry. Its Enzweiler Building Institute, in operation since 1967, uses an apprentice-style format to develop skilled labor in trades like rough and finish carpentry, plumbing, masonry, electric, and welding.

What is currently does not do is teach restoration trades.

“Given the astounding numbers of historical buildings in not only Covington but other parts of Northern Kentucky, there’s a huge need to create a robust workforce dedicated to restoration,” says Vicki Berling, director of professional development at the association.

The city has also hired two consultants using two federally funded grants that were matched with city money. Preservation Resources Inc. of Hannibal, Mo., is the primary consultant to complete a report on the broad needs of historic buildings, find properties that could be used as hands-on classroom projects, and write the curriculum for the program.

It also hired Donovan Rypkema and his Washington, D.C.-based firm, PlaceEconomics, to conduct an economic analysis of the need for the program, and create a baseline of data to gauge the success of the program at a later date, including data related to skilled labor availability, and numbers of rehab projects.

The former Colonial Inn at 1515 Madison Ave., now severely dilapidated, closed, and owned by the city, may be used as a working laboratory. Its primary building is a historic mansion built in the 1880s in a Queen Anne design, featuring bay windows, a corner tower, and an original porch with milled decoration.

“If you name a trade, this building needs it,” says Economic Development Director Tom West. “So it could provide a controlled environment for rebuilding the porch, repairing wood floors, repairing plaster, fixing wood windows, etc. And that would enable us, over time, to start to stabilize and restore it for possible productive use.”

West says his department will look to create other “laboratories” in historic buildings and homes in other neighborhoods, particularly in low-income areas.

Earlier this month, the city held two listening sessions, inviting contractors, historic property owners, potential students, and potential sponsors to ask questions and learn about the project. More than a hundred people joined the virtual meetings or inquired about the project, Myers says, including people from North Carolina, Rhode Island, Florida, Washington D.C., Indiana, and Maryland.

COVINGTON — Covington is in part known for being a city that is over 200 years old, and officials said almost half of its housing stock predates the 1940s. That is why the city’s effort to open a restoration trade school for historic buildings could be transformative for the area.

The Covington Restoration Trade School would target vulnerable, marginalized locals in need of work with opportunities to learn how to repair and preserve historic homes. Students would be educated in how to execute certain trades like masonry, electric and plumbing with special, necessary accommodations for older properties. Meanwhile, homeowners who cannot afford to restore their historic homes can have students work on them at a reduced cost.

“This idea has been around for a long time,” said Christopher Myers, who works for Covington’s Department of Development Community Services. “We’ve suffered from a lack of skilled tradespeople who can do the work that these buildings need and some of the problems that we’re trying to address. The challenges that we’re trying to address include un- and underemployment, access to opportunities.”

In addition to growing Covington’s skilled workforce, the program is also aimed at boosting investment in historic properties by lowering costs and bolstering new restoration businesses. Though organizers will encourage locals from diverse backgrounds to enroll, Myers says the school will prioritize applicants who are Covington residents of color, especially women, as well as veterans and high school students.

The city is still in the early stages of planning the launch for the school, outlining costs and seeking out partners to fund the program’s operations. Their goal is to open the school in May. One partner already signed on is the Building Industry Association of Northern Kentucky (BIA). Through the partnership, BIA will supply Covington’s trade school with space at its Enzweiler Building Institute in Erlanger where students will have access to equipment and instructors. The former Colonial Inn on Madison Avenue in Covington is also slated to be a laboratory for students once the school opens.

“We’re really excited to see what comes of this,” Myers said. “The opportunity is incredible. The need is huge. That’s what the data is telling us. So as we continue to build partnerships and piece this together to see how it could work, we just want to keep the dialogue open.”

Monique John covers gentrification for WCPO 9. She is part of our Report For America donor-supported journalism program. Read more about RFA here.

If there are stories about gentrification in the Greater Cincinnati area that you think we should cover, let us know. Send us your tips at moveupcincinnati@wcpo.com.

Walk around Covington, and you’ll see hundreds of historic homes, many of them in need of repair. But restoration is a specialized skill. There are a limited number of people who can do it and it can be expensive.

Armed with a couple of grants and matching funds, the city has a plan to create a workforce trained in restoring buildings.

“We’re going to skill up people so we’re creating a Covington Restoration Trades School to help give folks the skills that they need to fix masonry, repair windows, address box gutters, plaster work, all of those trades,” says the city’s Christopher Myers, who oversees historic preservation.

Covington is partnering with the Building Industry Association of Northern Kentucky and has hired two consultants. One of them is Bob Yapp, founder of the Belvedere School for Hands-on Preservation in Hannibal, Missouri. He’s charged with identifying teachers, assessing equipment, and writing the curriculum.

PlaceEconomics will study successful restoration trades programs in other states.

Where will it be?

Students will study at the Enzweiler Building Institute’s laboratory space in Erlanger and then get hands-on practice at the old Colonial Inn at 1515 Madison Avenue.

“This building (1515 Madison), if you name a trade, it needs it,” Myers says. “So, it’s the perfect kind of practice space for that hands-on real-world experience that we want to give students coming through the Covington Restoration Trades School. So, piece by piece, room by room, we’re going to take it apart, put it back together, fix it up and restore it.”

Christopher Myers

For further practice, Covington is also working to identify people who need home repairs but can’t afford them.

What kind of students is the school targeting?

Women of color, people of color, veterans, and high school graduates are the people Myers is hoping to get. You don’t have to live in Covington. The program is working to get childcare, transportation, and translation services for those interested.

The school is expected to start in May 2022.

Those interested in more information can contact Myers at cmyers@covingtonky.gov