By Judy Clabes
NKyTribune editor
The Kenton County Planning Commission will provide the public its first opportunity tonight to comment — and to hear the discussion — about a controversial project proposed for 11 E. Rivercenter Boulevard in Covington.
On the planning commission’s three-project discussion list is the project led by the Northern Kentucky Port Authority to build a facility on a 1.9 acre lot on the south side of E. Rivercenter Boulevard that is now a public parking lot between Madison and Scott Street.
The proposed building will house Chase Law School and UK College of Medicine at NKU — with both facilities re-locating from the Northern Kentucky University campus to the urban center.
In March, 2024, Sen. Chris McDaniel unveiled a development plan for the “Commonwealth Center for Biomedical Excellence” to be located on the old IRS site which Covington is developing.
In a surprise move — and without public discussion or knowledge — Kenton County Fiscal Court, through the NKY Port Authority, announced in October, 2025, that the $125 million “Commonwealth Center for Biomedical Excellence” would be located at the RiverCenter lot.
Questions arose about the sudden change of site, and most of those questions have not been answered.
Thanks to a Kentucky state law that requires that all new public building projects have a public hearing, the Kenton County Planning Commission is holding that hearing tonight.
According to an extensive report for the NKyTribune by Lorelei Smillie in January of this year, “Sources say that the county chose to ignore Covington completely” and not tell the then-Mayor of Covington about the change of location decision.
Multiple sources today are privately saying the same thing about the lack of transparency — people and organizations are being advised not to talk to the media about the project, with veiled warnings about future funding and job security.
Parking is a primary — but not the only — issue as at least 500 spaces are needed to serve approximately 600 students and faculty who will use the building.
Proponents say that the Kenton County garage, built with county funds exclusively to serve the Northern Kentucky Convention Center, is sufficient. But the Convention Center itself is in the process of planning an expansion.
Critics have called into question the validity and sufficiency of a report by a private consultant used by the Port Authority to analyze parking impact. One source said a parking study should be predicated on peak usage to reveal true adequacy, operational bottlenecks, and policy failures. “It should be a structured, data-drive evaluation.”
Another concern is the legitimacy of the Northern Kentucky Port Authority to undertake its broad range of inland economic development projects, several of which are already completed — all with significant state and local funds (aka, taxpayer money).
By Kentucky law, Port Authorities are not permitted to do inland development, yet significant funding provided by the state legislature has come through the Northern Kentucky Port Authority. And none of that funding has gone to water-centric development. And no expenditure involved public hearings.
Rep. Matt Lehman attempted to get legislation through the last session of the General Assembly that would have “legitimized” the Northern Kentucky Port Authority’s actions, but that bill failed to make it out of committee.
Lehman said none of Kentucky’s other — and thriving — port authorities supported the proposed legislation.
Currently, Kentucky statute authorizes Port Authorities to “estabilish, maintain, operate, and expand necessary and proper riverport and river navigation facilities” and other activities to attract river-oriented industry. (KRS 65.530)
A letter to Lehman from Kentuckians for Better Transportation and the Kentucky Association of Riverports objected to “statutory changes” that would impact how port authorities operate and are governed. It expressed concern about the “expansion of duties that could create confusion about the role of riverports, giving them the ability to operate more as economic development agencies.”
The Kenton County Planning Commission will have plenty to consider tonight.
The meeting will start at 6:15 p.m. on the 2nd floor Fiscal Court Chambers of the Kenton County Government Center, 1840 Simon Kenton Way in Covington.
Interested persons may speak or present information in person or send comments to kcpc@pdskc.org or via USPS to: Kenton County Planning Commission, 1840 Simon Kenton Way, Suite 3400, Covington, Ky. 41011. The commission assures that all correspondence will be reviewed and made part of the record.
TBNK provides live video of meetings on its website.