Once upon a time, the central business districts of downtowns all across America were the city's centers, heart and key to urban vitality. With the onset of suburban flight, many of these city centers have witnessed gradual decreases in its populace. As more people fled for the suburbs, businesses followed after them. This abandonment resulted in the economic decline of cities all across America.

Today, Covington is fighting to reverse this trend, to once again make its heart beat furiously, to make the city as vivacious as it once was. In hopes of doing this, the City of Covington and the Covington Business Council, in 2000, partnered to create the Covington Renaissance Committee. Today, that committee has evolved into Renaissance Covington, a mission-driven organization that seeks to revitalize our downtown's central business district. We wish to draw people from all over Covington together in this common goal. Downtown Covington, after all, belongs to everyone, and it should, as it once was, be the place where Covington comes together. We want to see people in Downtown Covington outside of normal business hours, but we understand that in order to do this we must promote cleanliness, safety, and an appropriate streetscape. We want to recruit and retain more businesses that will attract individuals to our downtown while at the same time encouraging the renovation and preservation of downtown buildings. We plan to do all of these things by community involvement and by fostering the public-private partnership from which we have grown.

Already, viable businesses are once again operating in our downtown. Check out the list of downtown businesses to see the many services currently offered. To see where these businesses are located, check out our Renaissance Area Map. And if you own a business, there are plenty of incentives to assist you in expanding to Downtown Covington, our newest being the Renaissance Covington Madison Avenue Façade Loan/Grant Program. In addition, we've secured funding for the rehabilitation of Odd Fellow's Hall, a historic building at the corner of Fifth and Madison, and the City is working with the owner of another historic building, the Ice House, for rehabilitation as well. Future plans also include the November groundbreaking of a 400 plus parking garage at Fifth and Scott, making downtown parking less of a hassle. In total, the City is committing over $4 million to the revitalization of the central business district. Incentives like these will ensure your visit to Downtown Covington is pleasant, that our businesses are prosperous, and, most important, that you'll return.

Click here for more details: www.covingtonky.com