COVINGTON, Ky. — The Kenton County Planning Commission has approved a zoning change that would allow for Covington-based developer Orleans Development to convert an old warehouse building in Covington into apartment buildings.
The planning commission recommended the zoning change at their meeting on Dec. 5. The commission’s recommendation will stand as final unless a resident appeals their decision within 21 days of the meeting.
The property in question is located at 1564 Banklick Street in the city’s Westside neighborhood near the intersection of West 16th Street and Russell Street. The 130-year-old building was originally part of an old foundry before later becoming a warehouse; prior to Thursday’s approval, the address was zoned for industrial use. The owner is currently listed as Three Bees, LLC.
The plan is to convert the building into a four-floor apartment complex with 39 units (a single studio apartment and 38 one-bedroom apartments) and 52 off-street parking spaces. The developer put the rent range of the apartments between $1,150 a month and $1,495 a month.
Preliminary floor plans for the apartment project on Banlick Street. Top image: lobby floor. Bottom image: other floors. Click for full sized images. Drawings produced by Hub + Weber. Drawings provided | Kenton County Planning and Development Services Staff members from Kenton County Planning Development Services, the professional wing of the planning commission, indicated that the region was in need of new apartment developments.
“The proposed development will strengthen the vitality of the urban core through historic preservation and infill development on an under-utilized property,” said Megan Bessey, one of the planning and development services planners. “Building upon a sense of community, it offers a housing option that meets the housing demands of Kenton County and a creative reuse of a non-residential property for a housing development.”
The staff members and commissioners were complimentary of both the city’s and the developer’s willingness to repurpose old buildings.
“I think it’s a great idea to re-utilize the old buildings in Kenton County and Covington instead of tearing them down and building something new,” said the commission’s Fort Mitchell representative Jeff Bethell.
“Orleans Development has many great projects across Northern Kentucky, and we know that they will provide a quality product to our residents,” said Covington’s Regulatory Services Manager Kaitlin Bryan.
Bessey cited a housing study released last year from the Northern Kentucky Development District, which suggested a supply deficit in smaller rental properties at all income levels.
About 62% of the residents in the census tract in which the development will occur are listed as rent-burdened as of 2022, according to the American Community Survey, an initiative from the U.S. Census Bureau that makes statistical estimations from census data.
Rental households must spend 30% or more of their income on rent (not including utilities, insurance and other housing expenses) in order to be considered rent-burdened. A tenant living in the complex making $52,900 or less would be rent-burdened if they’re paying the complex’s median rent of $1,322.50 a month.
About 45% of all Covington renters are rent-burdened, according to the American Community Survey. The median household income in Covington was $53,770 as of 2022.
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