Huge news today broken by River City News

 

Covington IRS to Close Center, Eliminate Close to 2,000 Jobs by 2019

 

Roughly half the workforce at the Internal Revenue Service in Covington would be eliminated by 2019 in a plan announced on Wednesday, according to an employee who spoke to The River City News on the condition of anonymity.

Approximately 2,000 employees received an email from a representative in Washington, D.C. Wednesday morning informing them of plans to shutter the sprawling site that straddles Third and Fourth Streets between Madison Avenue and Johnson Street. Apparently, the employees housed at the Gateway Center, the large building on Madison and Scott Boulevard between Third and Fourth Streets will not be affected.

Hopefully Covington will get behind a bold vision that includes remaking that part of the city in an urban way. This could easily be their version of The Banks, a multi-phase project built out over the next 20 years.

Prime land is about to be available and the mistake made in the 1960s opening this behemoth can be partly undone.

 

 

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If they're going to reduce payroll, at least they are consolidating into the much better designed "Gateway Center" building.

 

Who owns the land that the huge, single-story IRS building is on? Will be very interesting to see what plans are proposed for that area.

 

 

Who owns the land that the huge, single-story IRS building is on? Will be very interesting to see what plans are proposed for that area.

 

According to the NKY GIS it is owned by "UNITED STATES OF AMERICA"

Hell yeah it is.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8vNz3yWduWk

When IRS first hit the WWF I thought it was a stupid gimmick but it turned out better than expected.

When IRS first hit the WWF I thought it was a stupid gimmick but it turned out better than expected.

 

I'd watch an interview of whoever audited IRS's taxes during this period. 

 

And speaking of taxes, this is devastating for the city of Covington.  2,000 employees earning an average of $50k is an annual loss of approximately $2.5 million in earnings tax. 

 

 

^The article linked about states that salaries are 20 to 30k for most of the affected employees.

A reminder that public sector jobs in Kentucky often don't pay well.

Does the IRS pay property tax on all that land? If so, how much?

 

I'm wondering how much property/earnings tax could be generated by this riverfront property if re-developed as a mixed use project.

 

It's going to be a short term negative for Covington but long term this is hugely beneficial.  The land can be properly developed and priced for the great views that it has.  A Covington version of the banks, another office tower or two, potentially a spot for an FC Cincy stadium, ect.  The possibilities are endless and all of them are much better then the current IRS building. 

I made this a long time ago when I thought that the IRS would consolidate to a smaller building on site, so ignore the new IRS building in the Southeast corner, but that could become some other office or mixed use space.

Only thing I'd change is to allow some larger mixed use stuff along the southern side of 3rd. Otherwise you'd have large megablock on one side and small individual houses on the other which can be a bit weird. Allowing that to have a similar scale on either side of the street would be good.

 

But the most important thing is definitely rebuilding the street grid so that it extends through the site in all directions like it once did.

Wow this has been a long time coming.

 

Its staggering and maddening to look back at all of the horrible mistakes in designs and planning from the 1960s-70s era.

Just awful all around.

Since there's been mention of this IRS site being combined with nearby parcels of land/buildings to attract Amazon's HQ2,

I thought this WCPO media article, with its graphics, might be of interest:

 

http://www.wcpo.com/news/insider/with-irs-leaving-covington-is-making-plans-for-riverfront-site-

^Kentucky needs to build a new bridge between Madison and Race. 

^Kentucky needs to build a new bridge between Madison and Race.

 

Really don't see that happening without some kind of catalyst or huge growth occuring like the Amazon campus being on both sides of the river. But it would be the perfect connection between he unfinished Banks parcels and the IRS site and the best route for a Covington streetcar as well.

If Amazon chooses Covington, one of their conditions should be that the streetcar is extended across the river to their campus. A new bridge could be part of that equation. Maybe it could even be a Tilikum Crossing style bridge, only accessible to transit, bikes, pedestrians, and emergency vehicles.

The Race-Madison bridge was fully funded back in 1993-94.  Ohio withdrew its portion of the funding under shady circumstances so KY used the money to build the new Maysville bridge. 

 

The reason why Ohio withdrew the money was because the vision for the FWW rebuild and The Banks appeared and so they wanted to inhibit access to Covington.  Previously, the Suspension Bridge was basically an off-ramp that started north of the Lytle Tunnel.  You went through the center single-lane tunnel and you could either exit onto Vine St. or turn left and cross the bridge.  It's no accident that that access was eliminated in the FWW rebuild.  Obviously, a Race St. bridge wouldn't be a red carpet but it would be a significant improvement. 

 

Kentucky kicked TANK off the suspension bridge about five years ago and every route has since been forced to back-track across Covington.  It's a huge waste of time and money.  They need a new bridge. 

Not sure if the IRS can decommission that site and depart in time.

Not sure if the IRS can decommission that site and depart in time.

 

The Amazon project would happen in phases. The first phases could happen at open parcels at the Banks. The later (requiring larger spaces) phases could happen at the IRS site. Works almost perfectly actually:

 

Not sure if the IRS can decommission that site and depart in time.

 

The Amazon project would happen in phases. The first phases could happen at open parcels at the Banks. The later (requiring larger spaces) phases could happen at the IRS site. Works almost perfectly actually:

 

Nice photo map. Is there a local group that is going to reply to Amazon's RFP? Is something officially in the works?

Since there's been mention of this IRS site being combined with nearby parcels of land/buildings to attract Amazon's HQ2,

I thought this WCPO media article, with its graphics, might be of interest:

 

http://www.wcpo.com/news/insider/with-irs-leaving-covington-is-making-plans-for-riverfront-site-

 

Amazon talk aside, that plan shown for the IRS space in the WCPO article is horrible. They need to reconnect the street grid. Have Third Street traverse the site east-west again and add at least one, probably two, north-south streets.

 

A key component to the "walkability" buzzword is how easy is it to walk from your new development to OTHER stuff! I feel like this is consistently ignored when large parcels like this become available. Reconnecting the street grid is the surest way to get there by far.

Nice photo map. Is there a local group that is going to reply to Amazon's RFP? Is something officially in the works?

 

Cranley has indicated in interviews and on twitter that they are working on a response to the RFP. In a bit of awkward timing the city's director of economic development has actually recently resigned with an effective date before the response due date.

Nice photo map. Is there a local group that is going to reply to Amazon's RFP? Is something officially in the works?

 

Cranley has indicated in interviews and on twitter that they are working on a response to the RFP. In a bit of awkward timing the city's director of economic development has actually recently resigned with an effective date before the response due date.

This seems more like something REDI could do, http://www.redicincinnati.com/

WHY CINCINNATI?

The 15-county region at the intersection of Ohio, Kentucky and Indiana offers the perfect soft-landing spot for businesses looking to relocate or expand. Named by KPMG as the least costly location to do business among all large U.S. cities, Greater Cincinnati is home to nationally ranked incubators and accelerators and more than 450 foreign-owned firms.

 

LEARN MORE

 

 

Since there's been mention of this IRS site being combined with nearby parcels of land/buildings to attract Amazon's HQ2,

I thought this WCPO media article, with its graphics, might be of interest:

 

http://www.wcpo.com/news/insider/with-irs-leaving-covington-is-making-plans-for-riverfront-site-

 

Amazon talk aside, that plan shown for the IRS space in the WCPO article is horrible. They need to reconnect the street grid. Have Third Street traverse the site east-west again and add at least one, probably two, north-south streets.

 

A key component to the "walkability" buzzword is how easy is it to walk from your new development to OTHER stuff! I feel like this is consistently ignored when large parcels like this become available. Reconnecting the street grid is the surest way to get there by far.

Agreed.  My biggest surprise was seeing such graphics on WCPO.  However, I don't want to introduce any more HQ2 discussion than necessary into this thread.  Because our chances of winning it are so slim, I'm getting tired of hearing about it.

Since there's been mention of this IRS site being combined with nearby parcels of land/buildings to attract Amazon's HQ2,

I thought this WCPO media article, with its graphics, might be of interest:

 

http://www.wcpo.com/news/insider/with-irs-leaving-covington-is-making-plans-for-riverfront-site-

 

Amazon talk aside, that plan shown for the IRS space in the WCPO article is horrible. They need to reconnect the street grid. Have Third Street traverse the site east-west again and add at least one, probably two, north-south streets.

 

A key component to the "walkability" buzzword is how easy is it to walk from your new development to OTHER stuff! I feel like this is consistently ignored when large parcels like this become available. Reconnecting the street grid is the surest way to get there by far.

 

Love the Eco-District; love it

How about a ferris wheel and Imax theater?

That graphic makes it look like they want a park with a suburban office park around it on all sides. I agree with others that this needs to involve reconnecting the street grid first, then filling in the lots with mixed uses. That's one thing I think the Banks did well, the first thing they did was introduce a street grid, so no dumb mega-block development could mess it up in the future.

 

Step 1: Reconnect 3rd Street and Russel Street across the site.

Step 2: Expand NKY Convention Center and create new park bound by Johnson, Rivercenter, 3rd and Russel.

Step 3: Profit?

Hey guys I got a great idea for this site. How about a music venue?

52 minutes ago, thebillshark said:

Hey guys I got a great idea for this site. How about a music venue?

 

With a sky wheel and maybe an air hockey table.  

55 minutes ago, thebillshark said:

Hey guys I got a great idea for this site. How about a music venue?

I feel a Cincinnati Ideas post coming on.

13 minutes ago, jmecklenborg said:

 

With a sky wheel and maybe an air hockey table.  

 

Foosball table. Jeff Berding has made an ultimatum that the Kenton County Library System must agree to build the infrastructure for it by 4pm today.

Edited May 9, 20196 yr by thebillshark

28 minutes ago, thebillshark said:

 

Foosball table. Jeff Berding has made an ultimatum that the Kenton County Library System must agree to build the infrastructure for it by 4pm today.

 

Yeah an officially licensed foosball table with Mercy Health vs. Toyota.  

7 hours ago, jmecklenborg said:

 

Yeah an officially licensed foosball table with Mercy Health vs. Toyota.  

 

Loser has to move to Plano, TX

Covington buys prime redevelopment site for $20.5 million

By Tom Demeropolis  – Senior Staff Reporter, Cincinnati Business Courier

 

The city of Covington has purchased the former Internal Revenue Service paper-processing facility that sits between Third and Fourth streets for $20.5 million.

The Covington Board of Commissioners authorized Mayor Joe Meyer to sign papers formalizing the agreed-to-purchase price of the site of closed IRS facility. The 3-1 vote directs Meyer to accept the negotiated sale price of $20.5 million offered through the federal General Services Administration.

 

MORE

Exciting! There's so much good potential for that site.  A few other links:

• I found the Covington press release: https://www.covingtonky.gov/news/2020/03/12/city-buying-irs-site
• The Cooper Cary "vision" document: https://www.covingtonky.gov/Portals/covingtonky/Documents/Guidelines/2019_12_17_final presentation2.pdf
• And I also found out that Woolpert is getting involved. Woolpert press release: https://woolpert.com/resource/woolpert-teams-with-cooper-carry-to-plan-redevelopment-of-covington-riverfront-site/

 

 

7 hours ago, jwulsin said:

Exciting! There's so much good potential for that site.  A few other links:

• I found the Covington press release: https://www.covingtonky.gov/news/2020/03/12/city-buying-irs-site
• The Cooper Cary "vision" document: https://www.covingtonky.gov/Portals/covingtonky/Documents/Guidelines/2019_12_17_final presentation2.pdf
• And I also found out that Woolpert is getting involved. Woolpert press release: https://woolpert.com/resource/woolpert-teams-with-cooper-carry-to-plan-redevelopment-of-covington-riverfront-site/

 

 

I hope they put at least some mid rises. I feel like that’s too prime of a spot with the view of the skyline to have 4-5 story buildings.

Covington finalizes deal former IRS site, prepares for redevelopment

 

After wiring its last payment to the federal government, the City of Covington has officially taken ownership of the sprawling former IRS facility, which closed in 2019, and is preparing for private redevelopment.

 

More below:

https://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2020/08/04/covington-irs-site.html

 

Is there any serious talk in Covington about redesigning 4th and/or 5th streets to be more pedestrian friendly? There's a lot of development activity happening both north and south of those streets. I'd love to see a road diet proposed that recognized that Covington isn't just a place to "drive through" as quickly as possible. Especially if/when the IRS site gets redeveloped, slowing traffic on 4th/5th will be crucial to reconnecting Covington to the riverfront. 

2 hours ago, jwulsin said:

Is there any serious talk in Covington about redesigning 4th and/or 5th streets to be more pedestrian friendly? There's a lot of development activity happening both north and south of those streets. I'd love to see a road diet proposed that recognized that Covington isn't just a place to "drive through" as quickly as possible. Especially if/when the IRS site gets redeveloped, slowing traffic on 4th/5th will be crucial to reconnecting Covington to the riverfront. 

https://informedinfrastructure.com/53161/woolpert-teams-with-cooper-carry-to-plan-redevelopment-of-covington-riverfront-site/

1 minute ago, Rabbit Hash said:

https://informedinfrastructure.com/53161/woolpert-teams-with-cooper-carry-to-plan-redevelopment-of-covington-riverfront-site/

Not sure if this image at the top of that press release means anything... but it looks like the "proposed improvements" include "maintain 3 lanes westbound on 4th". No bueno. 

 

Does anyone know anything about this guy proposing an observation tower and/or "cathedral of culture" at the former IRS site? It seems pretty heavy handed but I'm curious what others think. It doesn't appear to have any connection the official city/developer proposal and I can't find out who the guy is or what his connection to Covington is. 

 

 

There is no need to build anything gimmicky there. The number one hot topic right now in Greater Cincinnati is affordable housing, affordable housing, affordable housing. Build a mixed use development there with human-scaled blocks that incorporates a significant amount of housing at a variety of price points, some ground floor retail space to serve residents, and maybe incorporate a bit of office space as well. What we don't need at the IRS site is more Ferris wheels, concert venues, malls, aquariums, or Millennium Towers. Stick to the meat and potatoes stuff.

47 minutes ago, taestell said:

There is no need to build anything gimmicky there. The number one hot topic right now in Greater Cincinnati is affordable housing, affordable housing, affordable housing. Build a mixed use development there with human-scaled blocks that incorporates a significant amount of housing at a variety of price points, some ground floor retail space to serve residents, and maybe incorporate a bit of office space as well. What we don't need at the IRS site is more Ferris wheels, concert venues, malls, aquariums, or Millennium Towers. Stick to the meat and potatoes stuff.

Agreed. I'd like to see the riverfront/levy improved as a high quality linear park and public amenity. But the rest of the space should be dedicated to getting as many residents into the area as possible. 

Covington lacks a great urban park, and will have even less park space after I75/I71 is someday widened eating up some of Goebel Park. Devou is like our Eden Park, but Covington lacks a Washington Park or Zeigler Park or Smale equivalent and I think the IRS development should try and solve that issue somewhat.

 

I think the urban planning is already done; it's called this historic photograph. Just replace the old railyard/dirt area with park and you're done.

 

 

EDIT: the only reason I brought up the observation tower proposal is because that architect is coming to Covington to present his idea in the coming weeks and I wanted to share as well as get some other people's feedback.

Edited July 13, 20213 yr by ucgrady

I never really understood observation towers that stood alone.  Something can be built at that height with a nice observation section on top with apartments and/or condos as the actual tower.  It could remain slim incorporating these living spaces.  That would bring more life to the area.  More dense projects that incorporate more than just an observation/restaurant/event space on top of what looks like a large pole is missing an opportunity.  Not sure if more office space is needed for that area, but it probably wouldn't be a bad idea to incorporate it into the other residential towers and make them mixed use giving way to 25-35 story towers. Retail on bottom, with 8-10 floors of office and 15-20 floors of residential.  That is downtown Covington and it deserves better than a suburban feel.  I do like the open space park feel to it, but it needs more high density towers around to give more life. 10 story or 15 story towers spread around is not sufficient.  Covington has great views and great access to the riverfront.       

6 hours ago, taestell said:

There is no need to build anything gimmicky there. The number one hot topic right now in Greater Cincinnati is affordable housing, affordable housing, affordable housing. Build a mixed use development there with human-scaled blocks that incorporates a significant amount of housing at a variety of price points, some ground floor retail space to serve residents, and maybe incorporate a bit of office space as well. What we don't need at the IRS site is more Ferris wheels, concert venues, malls, aquariums, or Millennium Towers. Stick to the meat and potatoes stuff.

…with an air gondola to the Ohio side for dessert! And maybe we can have dessert first!

Covington already has fairly detailed plans for the IRS site (sans gondola…)

https://www.covingtonky.gov/government/the-irs-site

 

 

Edited July 14, 20213 yr by thebillshark