64 condos planned in Covington

$13M project is aimed at young professionals

 

By Cindy Schroeder

Enquirer staff writer

 

 

Artist's rendering

A Louisville company wants to build Pulse, a $13 million condominium project proposed for Covington.

 

 

COVINGTON - A Louisville architectural and development firm wants to build a 64-unit condominium development on the fringes of the Covington Arts District.

 

J. Richard Kremer, president of the Louis & Henry Group, wants to build the $13 million project on a mostly vacant city block between Eighth and Ninth streets and Banklick and Russell streets.

 

http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051005/NEWS0103/510050389/1059/NEWS01

"singles and couples without children - spanning ages 24 to 35 and earning $25,000 to $125,000 a year. "What we're targeting is that young couple that sees themselves on the move," Kremer said. "... They truly want the Gucci and the BMW and that sort of thing."

 

If that sort of thing means overextending and living beyond your means...  :roll:

 

Other than that, the project sounds like a nice addition to the area.

yeah, great news.  i've heard of a few other small scale projects in the works for the area too.  I look forward to seeing how it progresses in the next 5-10 years.

I agree Mayday, the economics of the sales don't add up with someone making $25,000 per year.

I saw this on the news yesterday and they had an overhead shot and there doesn't look to be any garages. If I'm dropping that kind of money, I want a garage or two. When I lived in an apartment, I hated not have a garage.

There looked to be lots of angled parking behind two new rows of buildings, kind of like a very wide alley.

From the 1/5/06 Kenton Community Recorder:

 

 

New condos would combine art, modern design

BY AMANDA VAN BENSCHOTEN | COMMUNITY RECORDER STAFF WRITER

 

COVINGTON -- If the Kenton County Planning Commission approves a proposed zone change on Jan. 5, Covington's plan to increase housing will take another big step forward.

 

Louisville-based Louis and Henry Development plans to build 64 loft-style condos on 2.4 acres at West Eighth and Russell streets. Construction of the $13 million project would begin in late spring or early summer.

[email protected]

283-0404, ext. 203

 

http://news.communitypress.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060105/NEWS01/601050548/1079/Local

 

From the 3/15/06 Cincinnati Post:

 

 

Condos to be part of Covington's urban renewal

By Luke E. Saladin

Post staff reporter

 

It may not be getting the attention of the high-end Ascent at Roebling's Bridge, but another condo development could help advance urban renewal in Covington's Seminary Square neighborhood.

 

Pulse, a $13 million, 64-unit condominium complex planned by Louis & Henry Group, a firm of architects, developers and construction managers based in Louisville, received approval Monday from Covington's urban design review board to raze eight buildings on the proposed site.

have down here."

 

http://news.cincypost.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060315/NEWS01/603150353/1010/RSS01

 

<i>Yet another NKY project that looks to be on track.</i>

 

<b>N. Ky. lofts planned for urban dwellers

Plan modeled after Louisville project</b>

 

BY JAMES MCNAIR | ENQUIRER STAFF WRITER

COVINGTON - The lure of building homes for Northern Kentucky's edgy urbanites has prompted a Louisville developer to sink $13 million into a 64-unit loft venture eight blocks from the city's riverfront.

 

The Pulse Loft Condominiums will be edgy. The three-story row homes, designed and developed by The Louis & Henry Group of Louisville, will feature concrete floors, 10-foot-ceilings, movable walls and rooftop decks. Adorning the project on West Eighth Street will be as much as $70,000 worth of public art, up to half funded by the developer on a matching basis.

 

E-mail [email protected]

 

http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060616/BIZ01/606160353/1076/BIZ

these are well priced and affordable.  cant say i see much of that going on across the river. 

these are well priced and affordable.  cant say i see much of that going on across the river. 

 

Yeah, because I'm sure the land value of NOKY is along the same lines as DT Cincy's.

play up tru dat.  but nonetheless....

play up tru dat.  but nonetheless....

 

G'yeah.

if they want the bmw crowd they better add garages! there's no way i'd be leaving my bimmer outside :)

 

cool project though, need some more stuff in that price range on the ohio side.

Condo project awaited

Contract let to build PULSE loft units near arts community

BY CINDY SCHROEDER | ENQUIRER STAFF WRITER

 

COVINGTON - Groundbreaking for PULSE, a $13 million condominium project planned for a site on the fringes of Covington's arts district, will be Oct. 2.

 

Erlanger-based Century Construction recently was awarded the contract to build the 64-unit loft venture eight blocks from the Ohio riverfront.

 

Demolition of nine homes on the mostly vacant West Eighth Street site between the 800 blocks of Banklick and Russell streets is expected to take place in about a week, said Darren Spahr, business development manager for Century Construction.

 

http://news.nky.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/AB/20060831/NEWS0103/608310369

City hopes condos bring growth

BY CINDY SCHROEDER | ENQUIRER STAFF WRITER

 

By this time next year, the initial phase of Northern Kentucky's first loft condominium project will be built on a city block on the fringes of Covington's arts district.

 

The $13 million Pulse project just blocks from the Ohio River will trigger commercial development in Covington's downtown and its new arts district, city officials and the Louisville-based developer predicted at Monday's groundbreaking.

 

http://news.nky.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/AB/20061003/NEWS0103/610030353

Here are some construction pics from January 3, 2007.

 

Framing is done on at least one building and they're working on foundations for one or two more.  I hope you can see that in these pics.  The entire worksite is surrounded by chain link fence.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Nice! I started picking up the Cincinnati magazine, and have been somewhat keeping up with developments in northern Kentucky and have been floored by the amount of work that has gone on since Ashland Inc.'s move a while back. I remember Newport/Covington as gritty, dirty towns and now look at it...

Odd open house

Move the walls, create a room

BY MIKE RUTLEDGE | [email protected]

 

PHOTO:http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/misc?url=/misc/photos_single.pbs&IDato=20070322&IKategori=BIZ01&ID=703220332

 

COVINGTON - It will be a rare open house where the public is invited to push and pull the building's walls.

 

On March 30, a Louisville-based developer will unveil a furnished model of its 64-unit Pulse loft-style condominium project in the Covington Arts District. The development is unusual because the units' walls can be rearranged as residents see fit.

 

"They'll be able to see the sliding walls, and push 'em and pull 'em, all that kind of stuff," said Rick Kremer, president of Louis & Henry Group.

http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070322/BIZ01/703220332/1076/BIZ

Pulse shows off new upscale condos

Sliding walls, view of city among selling points of modern units

BY MIKE RUTLEDGE | [email protected]

April 1, 2007

 

COVINGTON - Frosted-glass walls roll along ceiling tracks to change room configurations in the new loft-style Pulse condominiums.

 

In some of the larger units, wall panels also will pivot around points, creating triangular rooms and other shapes that can be changed daily, if residents are interested.

 

From the third floor of the new 64-unit condominium building, "we have sort of a treetop view," said Rebecca Weber of Huff Realty, who noted residents of the upper level will be able to see the triangular tip of the 22-story Covington condominium tower, Ascent at Roebling's Bridge, as well as a distant piece of the golden arch of Interstate 471's Daniel Carter Beard Bridge.

 

http://news.nky.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/AB/20070401/NEWS0103/704010413

Taken March 21, 2007.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I ate lunch at Pike St Press yesterday - more or less right across the street from the Pulse condos.  The Pulse project will be huge shot in the arm for this area which contains a lot of really cool old buildings that are ripe for rehabs.  At the price points they are selling for, there should be a lot of young professionals moving in and this could really be an up and coming neighborhood. 

 

My only gripe is that in the midst of all historical buildings in the area, the Pulse's mixture of brick and wood siding (and it seems there will be a lot more "siding" than brick when finished) looks modern and out of place.  While I understand the juxtaposition of the new and the old in the "Arts District", I just think that it will look dated in the not too distant future compared to the classic architechture in the area.  That said I will reserve judgement (and the right to contradict myself later) for the final product.  The exterior still has a way to go, but that was just my impression from yesterday. 

 

For the record - I disagreed with my own observations about the Ascent (which I see everyday) after driving home from work they day after I posted comments about it. 

"For the record - I disagreed with my own observations about the Ascent (which I see everyday) after driving home from work they day after I posted comments about it."

 

I realize this isnt the Ascent discussion...but what does that mean?

I was joking about saying that I had the right to change my opinion of the look of the Pulse condos later on when they are complete.  A few weeks ago I posted some observations about the scale of Ascent when I was walking around on that block.  The next day I was looking at it again while I was driving home and I realized that I no longer agreed with what I had posted the day before. 

Pulse Loft Condos photo update, 9/18/07

Building Cincinnati, 9/26/07

 

The 32 units in Phase I of the Pulse Loft Condominiums appear to be very near completion.

 

The $13 million project will contain 64 units at buildout, priced between $140,000 and $322,000.

 

The Louis & Henry Group, an architectural and development firm out of Louisville, is the developer. Sales are being handled by Huff Realty.

 

The site is located between 8th and 9th streets and Banklick and Russell streets in the Seminary Square neighborhood of Covington.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

http://buildingcincinnati.blogspot.com/2007/09/pulse-loft-condos-photo-update-91807.html

 

Those actually look pretty sweet, I will have to drive by and see how they look in context with the neighborhood.

Pretty nice for new development.

the concept is cool, but they look pretty small, has anyone been inside?

I haven't been inside, no.

 

Those actually look pretty sweet, I will have to drive by and see how they look in context with the neighborhood.

 

Unfortunately, they're fronted by a large surface lot that's basically a cul-de-sac of Banklick Street.  However, the fact that you can still walk over to Pike Street eases this problem a bit.

 

the concept is cool, but they look pretty small, has anyone been inside?

 

A friend of mine moved into what I think is the smallest one last week, so I stopped in over the weekend to check the place out.  It was bigger than I had imagined, still fairly small, but a single person or a young couple could make it work.  The closets were enormous,  which is odd because I'd prefer a little more living space, but someone with a large wardrobe might disagree.  Small though it was, there is a room for a washer and dryer off of the kitchen area, which I didn't expect to see in a place of this size.  Everything inside is ultra-modern, which wasn't a surprise.  Not my kind of place really, as I prefer old, turn-of-the-century architecture to what has being built currently, but it wasn't bad either.

Pics?  Please say yes.  :wink:

Nah, I didn't have a camera with me.  The place wasn't exactly in "show condition", with moving boxes still littering the floor and whatnot.  I checked The Pulse's website and was surprised to see that there are no pictures.  Very unusual.  The prices listed online are also much higher than what I hear these have been going for.  I'm guessing that the declining condo market is mainly responsible for that.  I did find out that it was one of the "Space" units (the smallest), and the floor plan is available online:

 

http://www.pulselofts.com/fp_space.shtml

 

They have their kitchen table pushed up against the wall between the two windows, rather than in the location suggested by the floorplan, which freed up a lot of space for seating in the living room area.  When you've only got 740 square feet, you'd better make the most of it.

Word on the street is that these have gone rental.  Anyone have any details?  My brother checked them out last weekend and wanted to know if there was anything (bad management, poor construction, etc) that should keep him from pursuing it.

Lovcal developers bought it this week from the company that built it.  The second half along russell will not be built.  The new owners are local, and have done a lot of work along pike street, so they have a major incentive to handle this right.  The historic neighborhood that The Pulse is located in has a very active neighborhood association which also keeps things moving in the right direction.  I'd rent one in a heartbeat!  Great location!  Only bad thing would be the limited outdoor space, but that can potentially be mitigated/improved if the new owners utilize the half block empty lot that sits along russell street.  Their plan with the city stated they would be fencing it in with appropriate materials, eliminating the current chain link monster.

thanks for the heads up COV.  I'll forward it and suggest that he goes for it.  As for the limited outdoor space, it's an urban environment.  Open space should be limited.  Cheers.

Yeah, I looked into buying a condo there a while back but was not all that pleased for some reason. I'm not for sure the prior developer was the best at selling condos at that price level -- that and the market began sagging for a neighborhood that's not all that "gentrified" yet. It doesn't have the drawing power that OTR has - yet.

 

But rental units, it's top notch. I would recommend it in a heartbeat.