Northern Kentucky business leaders, as well as Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, were at the base of the Roebling Suspension Bridge Wednesday, Aug. 30, to celebrate the groundbreaking of a $26 million project designed to serve as a hub of economic growth for the region.
OneNKY Center, originally announced in May, will house at least seven Northern Kentucky growth organizations, including OneNKY Alliance, Northern Kentucky Chamber of Commerce, MeetNKY, BE NKY Growth Partnership, the Catalytic Fund of Northern Kentucky, Horizon Community Funds of Northern Kentucky and the Northern Kentucky Bar Association.
The building's second floor also will include a 15,000-square-foot life sciences lab that state officials earmarked $15 million for. The lab is considered potentially catalytic for the city and the region and hopes to be an incubator for early-stage companies, including those in the biotech, biopharma, medical device, digital health and health technology fields.
"We have a thriving life sciences cluster in Covington and look forward to having entrepreneurs and new biotech firms launching in the Covington Life Science Lab," Covington Mayor Joe Meyer said in a news release.
"The wet lab space was a need identified by our life sciences leaders — CTI, Bexion Pharmaceuticals, Gravity Diagnostics and (Northern Kentucky University) — with encouragement from advocates associated with North Carolina’s Research Triangle. We look forward to more new groundbreaking therapies and discoveries being developed here in Covington."
In a news release, Beshear highlighted how the lab space will lead to the creation of "more high-wage jobs and cutting-edge treatments right here in Kentucky."
Corporex Cos. is developing the 43,000-square-foot facility located on Greenup Street in Covington. The building will be owned by the Northern Kentucky Port Authority, with Kenton County chipping in up to $10 million to help support construction bonds for the project.
“The OneNKY Center is a big step forward for government effectiveness, efficiency and economic competitiveness in Northern Kentucky," Kenton County Judge/Executive Kris Knochelmann said in a news release. "These are qualities that the Kenton County Commissioners expect, and indeed demand, that we continuously pursue, and their support was critical to making this project happen."
