Riverfront Commons - Connecting Communities along Northern Kentucky's Riverfront

Southbank Partners is a collaboration of citizens, economic development officials, and business and government leaders working with cities and towns along the shores of the Ohio River in Northern Kentucky. We work with the cities of Ludlow, Covington, Newport, Bellevue, Dayton and Fort Thomas to increase strategic development and revitalization efforts with developers, city leaders, representatives of state government, our federal representatives in Congress and the people who reside in these communities. The organization is funded in part by Northern Kentucky Tri-County Economic Development Corporation (Tri-ED).

We have a track record of success over the last 12 years. Southbank Partners has been instrumental in creating the Southbank Shuttle - a bus route that connects Covington, Newport and Bellevue to downtown Cincinnati. The Shuttle makes a loop connecting residents of both sides of the Ohio River. Another connection across the river that Southbank Partners initiated and played a key role in was saving and creating the Purple People Bridge. This pedestrian and bike friendly bridge, that is painted purple, connects the popular Newport on the Levee - an attraction that includes the Newport Aquarium and many stores and restaurants - to Sawyer Point, a downtown park on the Ohio side of the river.

In Northern Kentucky, we get things done through a strong spirit of cooperation among government and civic leaders at all levels. Southbank Partners is embarking on our largest initiative yet - Riverfront Commons. We are focused on preserving the architecture and history of our river towns and revitalizing Northern Kentucky's urban core along the river while at the same time maximizing our use of the riverfront.

The Northern Kentucky riverfront has been the site of numerous residential and office developments in recent years: The Ascent in Covington, SouthShore in Newport and Harbor Greene in Bellevue are a few examples. New mixed use developments are in the works with the Ovation in Newport and Manhattan Harbour in Dayton.

Riverfront Commons is our vision of a sustainable urban environment with a greenway connection among the developments and neighborhoods through a series of parks and walking and bike paths along a 10-mile stretch of the river, as well as a lengthy section of the Licking River. Northern Kentucky will be a community united by parks, neighborhoods and businesses so that people can walk to work, restaurants and entertainment venues. The goal of the Riverfront Commons project is to create the most exciting riverfront experience in the Midwest. Our first priority is to correct the most serious erosion problems along our riverfront. This will establish a firm foundation for accomplishing our goal of creating the most exciting riverfront experience in the Midwest.

Southbank Partners has raised $200,000 over the last few months for advocacy, lobbying and planning efforts. While the recession has been a setback, Southbank Partners is forging ahead with our plans for Riverfront Commons. We have a history of doing what it takes through cooperation among many different parties to move our community forward and be ready for the future. We want to make Northern Kentucky a place where people can live, work and play – a destination and attraction for the next generation. I invite you to watch a video about Riverfront Commons on our web site, www.southbankpartners.com.

Southbank Partners is also working with the Catalytic Development Funding Corporation (CDFC, headed by Jeanne Schroer) on other urban revitalization projects. CDFC is raising capital to fund the gap developers may face between funding from banks, foundations and private individuals.

Bill Scheyer, President of Southbank Partners, is working to make Riverfront Commons a success in Northern Kentucky, as well as to promote urban revitalization within our river cities. Contact him at [email protected].