Southbank Partners would like to take this opportunity to wish all a Happy New Year while reflecting back on the successes, event, projects and plans of 2012.
Riverfront Commons
Planning and engineering continues on Riverfront Commons, the proposed11-mile, uninterrupted walkway/bikeway/pathway that would extend from Ludlow to Fort Thomas and link all of the Southbank cities.
Work on segments of the trial will begin in the spring.
MAC Productions Inc., a Northern Kentucky event and video production company that has long been active with Southbank, has produced an oustanding video on the Riverfront Commons project.
View the video here:
Riverfront Commons from MAC Productions AV on Vimeo.
In November Southbank Partners formally unveiled its visionary and forward-thinking Imagination 2020 plan, an economic development plan for the Southbank cities that covers 11 miles of Northern Kentucky Ohio Riverfront.
“Imagination 2020 will serve as a roadmap for economic development in the Southbank cities,” said Southbank President Jack Moreland. “This is a plan that will focus on land use, preserving open space, connecting neighborhood districts, creating housing opportunities, bolstering transportation and infrastructure, developing entertainment and cultural areas and improving the livability, walkability and commerce of the area.”
To view the plan, see the attached document below.
Imagination 2020 is designed to assist in facilitating and realizing major new projects in the Southbank cities that include:
In October, Lt. Gov. Jerry Abramson traveled to Newport to announce a $650,000 Kentucky Transportation Cabinet grant for an engineering study that will determine if the historic Purple People Bridge can structurally support a $100 million entertainment complex proposed by a Cincinnati development company. The grant was formally received by Wally Pagan, president of the Newport Southbank Bridge Co.
Southbank Partners supported the grant, which was secured by Rep. Dennis Keene, D-Wilder.
“This project will provide jobs and investment and attract tourism and visitors to the region,” Rep. Keene said.
In late December Newport has selected Stantec Services Inc., a Canada-based firm with offices in Lexington and Cincinnati, to study the structural integrity of the 116-year-old pedestrian span and whether it could support the proposed development.
“The motivating factor is just finding out how secure this bridge is,” Newport City Manager Tom Fromme told The Kentucky Enquirer. “This is a long-term investment for the whole region. It’s a symbolic connection between Northern Kentucky and Cincinnati, and half a million people a year walk across the bridge.”
In Septmber Southbank Partners worked in with the Northern Kentucky Chamber of Commerce, Northern Kentucky Tri-ED, the Northern Kentucky Convention Center, and the Catalytic Fund, to host the 2012 Southbank Developers’ Day Program. The program highlighted projects and development opportunities in Southbank’s six member cities: Bellevue, Covington, Dayton, Ft. Thomas, Ludlow and Newport.
As a part of the Developers Day, Southbank joined the other event sponsors in hosting a joint session of the Kentucky Senate and House of Representatives Appropriation and Revenue Committees. During the A&R Committee’s meeting, local institutions and organizations – including The Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport, The Catalytic Fund, The Northern Kentucky Convention Center and Tri-ED – presented selected projects that would benefit and enhance our River Cities.
The day’s events were held at The Newport Aquarium. B&B Riverboats hosted a tour of the Southbank cities on the Ohio River that was, unfortunately, cut short by a torrential downpour.
“Our Developers’ Day provided a grand opportunity to showcase how special our urban core is and more importantly what it could be with imagination and foresight,” Moreland said.
The night prior to Developers Day, The Northern Kentucky Convention Center hosted state legislators, local officials and others at a Cincinnati Reds game.
Southbank Partners worked closely with the Kentucky House of Representatives, the cities of Newport and Bellevue, SD1 and the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet on securing $1.8 million to repair a storm water culvert along the Ohio River on the Newport/Bellevue city line.
The shoreline had eroded due to stormwater overflows from a large culvert on the river. The project will reclaim part of the shoreline and covert it into green space and eventually become a part of Soukthbank’s proposed $80 million, 11.5 mile Riverfront Commons walking and biking trail.
During the 2012 World Choir games in July Southbank Partners and the Malton Gallery presented Humanity Outpost, a sculptural celebration of Peace and Humanity at the World Peace Bell in Newport.
The Humanity Outpost celebration was a venue creating a series of cultural events. Events encompassed art, music, and performance featuring local, regional and international talent. The event received Citations from Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear, the Kentucky House of Representatives, thanks to Rep. Keene, and the Kentucky State Sen., thanks to former state Sen. Jack Westwood of Erlanger.
The event was kicked off on July 1 with a keynote address by Secretary of the Kentucky Education Cabinet, Joe Meyer, a Covington native and resident.
Presentations were also done by Wayne Carlisle, Newport City Manager, Tom Fromme, Malton Gallery owner Sylvia Rombis and Artist Ed Casagrande.
Mark Macomber was responsible for all the individual bands and singers that performed throughout the event.
“We had everything from bluegrass to world music,” Moreland said. “We were honored to have three World Choir Games concerts from Canada, China and The Columbus Children’s Choir. Their performances were awesome. They packed the house on what was one of the hottest if not the hottest days of summer.”
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