NKU Pres. Geoff Mearns has told Kenton County that the university will not be moving Chase Law School to the Kenton County Administration Building.
In response, Kenton County Judge Executive Kris Knochelmann says he’ll ask fiscal court to work toward turning the building into a “marketable residential structure.”
“Northern Kentucky University has concluded its evaluation of the concept of renovating the Kenton County Administration Building to house Chase Law School,” said Mearns in a statement.
“While we remain deeply committed to serving our region’s urban communities, this particular project is not financially feasible for NKU.
“I thank our Board of Regents and our partners in local government for working collaboratively with us during this evaluation process, specifically the Kenton County Fiscal Court for presenting this concept to NKU.“
Knockelmann responded that “President Mearns’ comments reflect the ongoing funding issues confronting our region’s postsecondary education institutions.
“While a pathway to financing the renovation of the county administration building existed, a solution to the ongoing operational funding challenges facing NKU did not.
“The current county administration building lacks the free surface parking and interstate accessibility desirable for delivering governmental services but, thanks to this study, we now know that the building can be successfully renovated into a marketable residential structure.
“We’ll begin working with the members of the Fiscal Court toward that end as we continue the development of the new county administration center at the 12th Street exit on I-71/I-75.”
The county announced earlier that the old Bavarian Brewery would be purchase by the county as its administration center.