Covington blighted block being reborn

COVINGTON, Ky. - When neighborhood leaders came out to ceremonially break ground on two new homes on Banklick Street Tuesday, they had several tons of help.

Side-by-side the traditional shovels, a diesel powered backhoe scooped up a load a dirt for the photo op.

The groundbreaking is part of an effort to reclaim the entire 900 block across from George C. Carlisle Elementary School from the blight that has plagued it for years.

"They...become a safety issue," said Rachel Hastings,  Director of Neighborhood and Housing Initiatives, for the Center for Great Neighborhoods of Covington. "Squatters break into the homes, sometimes there are fires, sometimes there is criminal activity."

In addition to the two new homes sprouting from the lots where dilapidated buildings had been razed, three neighboring buildings are being rehabbed for future affordable home ownership.

"This is really going to bring back this part of the neighborhood for folks in this community," Hastings said.

The improvement is something that was desperately needed, said Greg Paeth, President of the Old Seminary Square Neighborhood Association. "These buildings were blighted and have been a thorn in the side of the neighborhood and the city for quite some time."

The goal is to make the block, and by extension, the street, neighborhood and entire city more attractive. "You see a multipier effect," she said. "So this increases property values, both on this block...and on surrounding blocks."

The three rehabs are expected to be completed in February, and the new homes should be finished in June of 2012.

The project is costing just under $1 million and is being funded entirely by the Federal Neighborhood Stabilization Program.