OneNKY Center receives important funding, support
With its decision to locate a life science lab in OneNKY Center, Covington Life Sciences Partners (CLSP) is seeking to position the city as a nexus of education, research, entrepreneurism and job creation for the biotech industries. That dream is now one important step closer to becoming reality.
The Covington Life Science Lab, funded by the Commonwealth of Kentucky, will be located in 15,000 square feet on the second floor of OneNKY Center, which is being built by the Northern Kentucky Port Authority (NKPA). The NKPA recently announced that a key piece of funding for the OneNKY Center was approved by the Kenton County Fiscal Court, which unanimously voted to approve a credit enhancement for up to $10 million in construction bonds, a critical component of the capital stack for the OneNKY Center, which will be owned by the NKPA. The center is sure to have an economic impact on the entire region.
“Bringing key regional organizations handling economic development, tourism, etc., together in the OneNKY Center will improve their ability to elevate Northern Kentucky, while increasing the efficiency of their backroom operations,” says Kris Knochelmann, Kenton County judge/executive. “As we work to create a thriving and prosperous Northern Kentucky, we need every component of our community operating at the highest level, and the OneNKY Center will help us achieve that.”
The OneNKY Center, at the foot of the Roebling Suspension Bridge, is a 43,000-square-foot Class A office building that will be the home of Northern Kentucky’s growth organizations. In addition to the Covington Life Science Lab, these include the OneNKY Alliance, Northern Kentucky Chamber of Commerce, meetNKY, BE NKY Growth Partnership, The Catalytic Fund of Northern Kentucky, Horizon Community Funds of Northern Kentucky, the Northern Kentucky Bar Association and CLSP.
“Having initiated this coalition of dedicated people and organizations, in partnership with the Catalytic Fund, working toward building a more meaningful future for our community was a major priority for the OneNKY Alliance and was simply exhilarating,” says Karen Finan, president and CEO of OneNKY Alliance. “This project has been an important initiative for many key Northern Kentucky organizations over the past four years and, now, we cannot wait to see what happens next.”
The Catalytic Fund led and aligned sources of funding for the OneNKY Center. Funding for the $26 million building comes from the planned bond issuance in addition to the purchase of the land by St. Elizabeth Healthcare, funding from the CLSP for Covington Life Sciences Lab, the Haile Foundation, Horizon Community Funds, R.C. Durr Foundation and Drees Foundation.
Jeanne Schroer, CEO of the Catalytic Fund of Northern Kentucky, notes that the OneNKY Center will add to the renaissance happening in the city of Covington.
“The location for the OneNKY Center is ideal. It will be a signature building at the front door to NKY,” says Schroer. “It will complement all the new development in the Roebling Point neighborhood while serving as a catalyst for exciting new developments along the riverfront and throughout the region.”
The building is 93% leased and will feature 44 underground parking spaces. Corporex has been named the design build contractor. Construction started this summer.
“The OneNKY Center is a significant achievement for the Northern Kentucky Port Authority,” says Christine Russell, NKPA executive director and vice president of strategy at BE NKY Growth Partnership. “Getting the building financed and leased represents a tremendous amount of collaboration between the OneNKY Alliance, Catalytic Fund, Kenton County and many other organizations.”
While each partner played an important role in the development of OneNKY, CLSP Co-chair Chuck Scheper, who is also chairman of the board of Bexion Pharmaceuticals, was also quick to credit local civic leaders for their role.
“This milestone is the result of a tremendous amount of cooperation among Governor [Andy] Beshear, Covington Mayor Joe Meyer, Senator [Chris] McDaniel and the leaders of life sciences companies in Northern Kentucky,” he says. “Having a state-of-the-art wet lab in Covington will be a strong asset, in addition to the SBIR-STTR [government funding] match that Kentucky offers, in attracting entrepreneurs and biotech companies to Northern Kentucky.”
The Covington Life Science Lab will provide cost-effective research and development facilities with shared equipment and office space for early-stage companies, in addition to offering educational and training opportunities, in the life sciences industry. Locating the lab in the OneNKY Center enhances operational capabilities and reduces key risks and challenges while meeting a tight construction deadline.
The CLSP has signed a 99-year lease with the NKPA for $12 million and remaining funds will be used for fit-out and equipment. Payments will be made to the NKPA as construction milestones are achieved.
“It’s exciting to see this project move forward with collaboration from business and government leaders,” says CLSP Co-chair Garren Colvin, president and CEO of St. Elizabeth Healthcare. “If Northern Kentucky is going to be one of the healthiest regions in the country, we need to have businesses that are poised for future growth—like biotechnology—and access to improved health care. This project is advancing both.”
“The Covington Life Science Lab will build on Covington’s growing reputation as a hub for high-tech advancements in this critical sector, and it will bring to fruition our vision when we started this process two years ago,” says Joe Meyer, mayor of Covington. “Companies like Bexion, CTI and Gravity Diagnostics are wowing the world, and we hope this lab will help many other new companies along that same path.”
“The new incubation lab in Covington will put our region on the map in the life sciences industry and enhance our biotech and biopharma research and development ecosystem,” says Tim Schroeder, CEO of CTI Clinical Trial & Consulting Services. “From Mayor Meyer’s initial vision for this endeavor, to Governor Beshear’s enthusiastic personal support after seeing NKY health care and life science companies step up during the COVID pandemic, to Senator McDaniel’s ‘go big’ mindset putting us at the cutting edge of research, we have been able to watch this transformative project emerge. This location is mere blocks from CTI’s global headquarters, and we look forward to many fruitful collaborations.”
As a result of the collaboration between the city of Covington and life science company leaders, Governor Beshear included $10 million for a life sciences lab in Covington in his budget presented to the General Assembly last year. Senator McDaniel, chair of the Kentucky Senate Appropriations & Revenue Committee, initiated the effort in the General Assembly and included an additional $5 million. HB1, the state’s two-year budget legislation, provided $15 million for a new Northern Kentucky life sciences lab and was passed by the Kentucky General Assembly earlier this year.
