By Andy Furman
NKyTribune staff writer
The Cincinnati Chapter of the American Marketing Association earlier this year named him a Marketing Legend. Some 30 years ago he was told he was best suited to be a bus driver. Go figure.
Since 2010 Pat Frew has served as Executive Director of the Covington Business Council – a membership-based business advocacy group whose mission is to support a healthy business climate for Covington.
“Covington,” he told the Covington Rotary Club at their weekly lunch meeting, “has exploded with growth.”
So has the Covington Business Council. The 16-year head has seen growth from 130 member companies to 530 members, since he took over the CBC.
But there’s more. “In that 16-year span,” he explained, “the City of Covington has seen an approximate infusion of half a billion dollars in private investment beginning with the construction of Hotel Covington, the move and building of the DBL Law headquarters, and the launches of the One NKY Center and Sparkhaus, Northern Kentucky’s entrepreneurial hub, just to name a few.”
And several projects are on the horizon, he promised.
• The development of the 23-acre former IRS site
• The Center for Biomedical Excellence
• The planned building of the Fischer Homes corporate headquarters
• The renovation and expansion of the NKY Convention Center, and an anticipated hotel companion project.
“The Covington Central Riverfront, former IRS Site, is a massive 23-acre redevelopment project, turning the old IRS site into a vibrant, walkable mixed-use neighborhood along the Ohio River,” he said.
“Ground has officially broken on Riverstone Place, the first major-use development and tallest project on the site,” he said, “featuring apartments and retail space.”
The Block A Development, he said is led by local developer Jodi Funke. “This section, along Fourth Street, includes 10 single-family homes and two mixed-use buildings.”
The Phase 1 Infrastructure, he says crews are actively building out the new street grid, utilities, and horizontal infrastructure between Third and Fourth Streets.
Pleasant Street Workforce Housing:
• The City of Covington and Neighborhood Investment Partners launched the first phase for an affordable housing and homeownership initiative,
• Current Status: Two newly-constructed 1,560-square-foot homes – 304 and 308 Pleasant Street – are built and aimed at expanding local homeownership in the Eastside neighborhood.
The 250,000-square-foot Commonwealth Center for Biomedical Excellence will house the Northern Kentucky University Salmon P. Chase College of Law and the University of Kentucky College of Medicine’s Northern Kentucky campus on a 1.89-acre site at 11 East Rivercenter Blvd., in Covington. The groundbreaking took place June 11, 2026.
Its completion is scheduled in two years, says Frew. “And it’s on schedule now,” he said.
Construction on the new Fischer Homes/The Fischer Group headquarters in Covington has been going on the past five months – on schedule, Frew reported.
Project Details and Timeline:
• Location: 525 Scott Street – the historic former First District School Building
• Project Scope: A $15 million transformation expanding the building footprint from 65,000 to roughly 95,000 square feet, which includes adding three stories to the north end and one story above the existing gym.
• Target Completion: Fourth quarter of 2027, when about 350 to 400 employees will relocate from their current unincorporated Boone County/Erlanger location.
Oh, we almost forgot about driving that bus.
“I was in the early 30s,” the 65-year-old Frew told the club. “I thought of working in the ministry. I had done news reporting for 700-WLW Radio. I needed work that mattered,” he said.
He took tests for the ministry, he explained, and the results?
“Those results said I’d be best suited to be a bus driver,” he said. “Funny thing, they never saw me drive.”
Yet he said it was God using the CBC opportunity for him to lead a flock of people and see them grow.
That he has done in Covington.
“It’s a much better environment here – than across the river – to grow and prosper,” he said.