One Highland blends living and business space

The Residences at One Highland in Fort Thomas opened in October 2022 and has been growing ever since.

Developer Rick Greiwe says the project was delayed almost eight months due to the pandemic and subsequent supply chain issues. To make up for this delay, Greiwe and his team decided to pick the finishings for each unit, making them ready to move in. Since January, the units have been available for purchase, with two being sold recently.

“We hope that the sales will continue into the spring and summer now that people can actually see all the units finished,” Greiwe says.

Greiwe says the feedback from buyers has been great. His target audience—which he says is the same audience for most of his projects—is for empty nesters who want to downsize and enjoy a carefree lifestyle without having to worry about managing a large house.

“Each buyer is a different story. Either they are moving from larger houses to a more manageable space or they’re moving from the suburbs and want a lifestyle where they can walk out the front door,” Greiwe says. “Fort Thomas is conveniently located to all the great assets of Newport, Covington and Cincinnati—all the arts, sports, finest dining is readily available.”

It’s not just empty nesters who are loving the new building. On the first floor, businesses are benefiting from One Highland’s great location and assets. From what Greiwe has heard from business owners, like Fort Thomas Coffee, they love the new space.

“I think everybody that’s in there is very happy,” Greiwe says.

At first, Greiwe says he was concerned with having a mixed-use development space because some tenants would move out, creating vacancies in the businesses.

“We took a very different approach on how to solve that problem. We went out and actually curated the best businesses that are doing well, who wanted modern space, so they could move from old houses and old spaces for the good-looking lot and space and own it,” he says.

“All these people on the first floor are actually condominium owners, which is a whole different philosophy than being renters,” Greiwe says. “They have a stake in the building just like the people that are buying condos above. They’re all reliable businesses that have been in Fort Thomas for a long time.”

Because the businesses own their spaces, Greiwe says it has eased residential owners’ worries.

“It was easy to convince the residential owners that you don’t have to worry about who’s on the first floor. They serve on the condo board and it’s a nice, happy family where everybody has the same values,” Greiwe says.

Overall, Greiwe says he’s happy with the way the building turned out, and says this investment is attracting other businesses that will benefit Fort Thomas.

“The way it’s positioned on the corner, I think the texture of the stone and the brick is really beautiful,” Greiwe says.