COVINGTON, Ky. - Audrey Fisher and Tom West know a good thing when they see it.
The two are front and center in the next hot spot in Covington. Restaurants, retail and office space - all coming to the Duveneck Square development near Pike and Madison.
"It's going to be awesome once everybody realizes that we're here. We're established. We're developing. Come on in," says Fisher, manager of Alto Pizza Kitchen + Bar.
Alto is having its grand opening this weekend.
RELATED: New restaurant giving away free pizza for a year.
"In this area, you needed something like this. You needed a local pizza place," Fisher says.
She calls Duveneck Square a game changer.
"This neighborhood needs something great like that. We need retail stores. You need new restaurants. You need stuff around here to make it fun,” Fisher says.
“Covington is going to be fun right now. This is just the start of it."
Phase 1 of Duveneck Square, which is wrapping up, consists of 110 apartments with retail and restaurant space on the ground level. The renderings for Phase 2 show a parking garage, new office space and even more residential living rising from what is now a parking lot.
A decade ago, this kind of the development was unthinkable to West, Covington’s economic development director.
"If you had told me 12 years ago we'd have luxury housing and new office developments going on right in the heart of Pike and Madison, I would've said you're nuts," West says.
Covington has become a destination, according to West.
"We have a diverse population fueling a lot of this growth and development," he says.
Alto is just one slice of the pie.
"This area is starting to develop,” Fisher says. “It's a very good area to be in. Covington is starting to make a name for itself.”
