Covington Central Riverfront: Inside the Former IRS Site Plan

The Covington Central Riverfront is a new riverfront neighborhood rising on the site of the former IRS processing center in Covington, Kentucky, directly across the Ohio River from downtown Cincinnati. For more than fifty years, this 23-acre stretch of prime riverfront sat behind a flood wall doing one job: processing tax paperwork. Now the old federal complex is gone, and a project described as a roughly half-billion-dollar investment is taking its place.

We're The Baron Group, and our team is on pace to sell more than $100 million in real estate this year across Greater Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky. Watching what actually gets built on both sides of the river is a big part of our job. We've driven past this exact site more times than we can count.

Here's what you'll walk away knowing: what used to sit on this land, exactly where the Covington IRS site redevelopment stands in 2026, which developers have dirt moving right now, and what the whole neighborhood is supposed to become. We'll also break down the money, because the numbers get tangled. Let's get into it.

Think about that for a second. This is some of the best skyline-and-river land in the entire region, with a front-row seat to the Cincinnati skyline. For more than fifty years, the job on this land was processing tax returns. Of all the things.

Here's the turn. The IRS left, and the City of Covington bought the whole site in 2020 for $20.5 million. In 2022, [LINK: O'Rourke Wrecking — official site or Google listing] tore the building down. Then the city did something you don't usually see. Instead of selling everything to one big developer and walking away, the city made itself the master developer. It's carving those 23 acres into blocks and picking a developer for each piece. The whole plan has a name now: the Covington Central Riverfront. So the real question is what all of that has actually produced on the ground.

Start with the boring stuff that actually matters. Phase 1 was a $14.9 million contract that went to Bray Construction Services out of Alexandria, and it kicked off April 1, 2024. Crews brought in about 60,000 cubic yards of fill, ran all new water, gas, electric, and sewer lines, and put in streets, sidewalks, and public space. The big one: they rebuilt the actual street grid. That flood wall and superblock cut Covington off from its own river for fifty years, and reconnecting the streets is how you undo that. As of early 2026, the city says the street grid is back and new public green space is in.

The next phase is moving too. On January 13, city commissioners approved Phase 2, with KZF Design on design and Messer Construction as construction manager. It covers underground infrastructure, a parking garage, a podium, and a land bridge. Mayor Ron Washington then announced another $4.5 million in federal money for the phase, secured with help from Senator Mitch McConnell, and Congress has since approved it. The plan calls for a garage with about 660 spaces, a riverfront podium, and a land bridge — basically an elevated park with a straight-shot view of the Cincinnati skyline.

Which developers are building on the Covington riverfront right now?

Three developers currently have projects underway on the site: Drees Homes, Funke Real Estate Group, and Silverman and Company. This is where the plan stops being a drawing.

First, Drees Homes on Block B. It's 16 townhomes, about a $7 million project. The framing on the units facing 4th Street was done by late January, and sales launched January 31 starting around $645,000. That's the first real housing out of the ground on this site. Drees is a name locals know well — we've covered How Drees Homes Became Cincinnati's Most Trusted Family Home Builder

Second, Funke Real Estate Group on Block A. It's led by Jodi Funke, and her company became the first women-owned development company to break ground in the new district. Her piece is a gateway on 4th Street: 10 detached single-family homes plus two corner mixed-use buildings, with 8 condominiums marketed on the upper floors. The land ran about $1.44 million, and the full Block A development is reported at around $8.7 million. Funke broke ground in December 2025.

Then the big one. Silverman and Company ground on July 24 on Riverstone Place, the first true mixed-use building in the district. It's six stories, about 269 apartments, with around 8,000 square feet of ground-floor retail and 133 parking spaces built in. Silverman bought the parcels for about $2.6 million, but the building itself is an $80 million project. It's privately developed, but not without public help: the city authorized up to $75 million in industrial revenue bonds for it, and the two sides agreed to a 20-year PILOT (payment-in-lieu-of-taxes) deal. The developer is on the hook to pay those bonds back, but to be straight with you, it's still a real public tax incentive.

Start with homes, since that's our world. Back in 2021, the TIF model assumed 348 apartments across the district — but that was a modeling number, not the current mix. The actual mix being built now (townhomes, detached homes, condos, and apartments) came together later through the individual developer deals. Just the first three developments — Riverstone Place, Drees, and Funke — already total around 300 announced homes between them, and that's before the rest of the blocks fill in.

Then the commercial side. The plan calls for around 200,000 square feet of office aimed at high-paying jobs, but nothing is signed on this parcel yet — the office piece is still an open question. There's a 177-room hotel in the plan tied to the convention center, plus a convention center expansion of about 111,000 square feet. Both are planned, not built and not signed. On the fun side, there's about 87,800 square feet of retail, restaurants, and bars, and the city wants to lean local with those.

The piece we can't stop thinking about is the public space. The design rips out the old flood-wall superblock and reconnects the historic street grid, so the city touches its river again. There's flexible green space, a riverfront podium, and that land bridge — an elevated park looking straight across at the downtown skyline. Picture walking out of your townhome, grabbing dinner at a local spot downstairs, and standing on an elevated park with the whole Cincinnati skyline lit up across the water. Right where a federal tax complex used to sit.

The most-cited detailed figure is a 2022 TIF study that put the project around $394 million. But that number includes about $80 million in financing costs. Strip the financing out, and the actual capital investment was around $308 million. That breaks into roughly $227 million in private development and about $81 million in public infrastructure. And even that keeps moving as individual projects change — like Riverstone Place, now reported at $80 million, up from its original proposal. The honest way to say it: it's a massive, multi-hundred-million-dollar investment, and the exact total depends on which document and which year you're looking at.

So who pays for what? The private money is the buildings, and that's already showing up. The public side is the city's slice — Covington says it is investing more than $100 million in the land, the demolition, the cleanup, the planning, the engineering, and the public infrastructure. The city isn't carrying that alone. It landed a roughly $16 million federal grant in 2024 for the land bridge, garage, sidewalks, and podium park, plus the additional $4.5 million Congress approved for the next phase.

On the state side, there's a tax-increment financing (TIF) deal. In plain English: the state isn't writing a check up front. As the new development throws off new tax revenue, the state lets the project keep a share of that growth to help pay back the public costs. That deal was originally set up for up to about $45 million over 30 years, and it was restructured in 2026 to a max of about $30 million over 20 years, capturing 60% of the new tax growth.

One number to clear up: a $150 million proposal in 2024 for a new law school and medical campus was initially floated for this riverfront site. The state ended up funding it at $125 million, and it landed on a separate parcel immediately east of the site, where it broke ground in June 2026. It's a great thing for Covington — it's just not part of this riverfront budget.

Is the full Covington Central Riverfront vision actually going to get built?

The core of this project is real, and it's already past the "just a rendering" stage — but the pieces that make it a true downtown are not signed yet. That's the honest read.

Here's why we're confident. Big riverfront visions stall out all the time and stay drawings for a decade. This one is past that line. The building is demolished. The infrastructure is in the ground. The street grid is back. And in about a year, you had townhomes selling, a women-owned company building a gateway, and an $80 million mixed-use building breaking ground. That's not a rendering. That's cranes.

Now the caution. The hotel, the convention center expansion, and the big office anchor are not signed. And the flashiest tenants people expected — the law and medical schools — landed on a separate site next door instead. So there's a version where this ends up mostly housing and the rest lands slower than the renderings promise. We don't think that's what happens, but the risk isn't zero.

Here's why you should care even if you never buy here. This is the Northern Kentucky answer to The Banks. Cincinnati spent the last decade turning its side of the river into The Banks — we broke that whole thing down in [INTERNAL LINK: "Inside Cincinnati's $800M Riverfront Transformation: Full Plan Revealed" — https://www.barongrouprealty.com/media/the-banks-new-transformation-cincinnatis-800m-riverfront-plan]. Now Covington is building the mirror image directly across the water: hundreds of new market-rate homes in a walkable riverfront spot, with townhomes already selling in the mid-$600s. That's a real draw for young professionals and empty nesters, and it's one more reason we keep pointing people toward the The Northern Kentucky Advantage: Why You Should Make the Move

Conclusion

The Covington Central Riverfront has already cleared the hardest hurdle for a project this size: it's out of the ground. The old IRS complex is gone, the street grid is back, and townhomes, a women-owned gateway development, and an $80 million mixed-use building are all underway. The office anchor, hotel, and convention expansion still need to land, so there's real work left before the full vision is proven out.

For anyone weighing a move to the Kentucky side of the river, this is one of the most significant riverfront stories we're tracking. Whether you're a young professional, an empty nester, or just curious where Northern Kentucky is headed, our team is watching this one block by block. Reach out to The Baron Group or explore our other neighborhood breakdowns to see where it fits your plans.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the Covington Central Riverfront?

The Covington Central Riverfront is a planned mixed-use neighborhood being built on the 23-acre site of the former IRS processing center in Covington, Kentucky, along the Ohio River across from downtown Cincinnati. The City of Covington bought the site in 2020, demolished the old federal building in 2022, and is acting as the master developer, dividing the land into blocks for different builders. The plan includes homes, retail, office space, public parks, and a possible hotel.

Where is the old Covington IRS site located?

The former IRS site sits on the Ohio River in Covington, Kentucky, directly across the water from downtown Cincinnati. It covers about 23 acres of riverfront that was cut off from the city by a flood wall and a large superblock for more than fifty years. The redevelopment reconnects the historic street grid so the neighborhood reaches the river again.

What is Riverstone Place in Covington?

Riverstone Place is the first true mixed-use building in the Covington Central Riverfront district, developed by Silverman and Company, which broke ground on July 24. It is a six-story building with about 269 apartments, roughly 8,000 square feet of ground-floor retail, and 133 built-in parking spaces. The building is an $80 million project, supported in part by up to $75 million in city-authorized industrial revenue bonds and a 20-year payment-in-lieu-of-taxes agreement.

How much does the Covington IRS site redevelopment cost?

The project is often described as a roughly half-billion-dollar investment, but there is no single budget figure. A 2022 TIF study put it around $394 million including about $80 million in financing costs; stripping the financing out leaves roughly $308 million in capital investment — about $227 million private and $81 million public. The exact total shifts as individual buildings, like the now-$80 million Riverstone Place, change over time.

Who is building homes at the Covington Central Riverfront?

Three developers currently have projects underway: Drees Homes is building 16 townhomes on Block B (sales launched January 31 starting around $645,000), Funke Real Estate Group is building 10 detached homes plus condos on Block A, and Silverman and Company is building Riverstone Place with about 269 apartments. Together, those first three developments total around 300 announced homes. More blocks are planned but not yet assigned to builders.

Is the Covington riverfront project fully funded by private money?

No. The buildings are privately developed, but the project also relies on significant public support. The City of Covington says it is investing more than $100 million in land, demolition, cleanup, and public infrastructure, backed by a roughly $16 million federal grant plus an additional $4.5 million from Congress. Individual buildings like Riverstone Place also received city-authorized industrial revenue bonds and tax incentives.

Is the law school and medical campus part of the Covington riverfront project?

No. A $150 million law school and medical campus was originally floated for the riverfront site in 2024, but the state ultimately funded it at $125 million on a separate parcel immediately east of the site, where it broke ground in June 2026. It is a major win for Covington, but it is not part of the Covington Central Riverfront budget or footprint.

When will the Covington Central Riverfront be finished?

There is no announced date for full buildout. This is a long, block-by-block project, and the city is assigning developers and approving phases one piece at a time. Early phases — infrastructure, townhomes, and the first mixed-use building — are already underway in 2026, but larger pieces like the office anchor, hotel, and convention center expansion are still planned and not yet signed.