NEWPORT, Ky. — A complete transformation of the riverfront in Newport is well underway as the next milestones in the Ovation project will happen this year.

The $1 billion project by Corporex is a 25-acre mixed-use development that will feature residential units, office space, hotel rooms, the ovation membership club and plenty of space leftover for retail and entertainment.

The Megacorp Pavilion, a music and event venue, kicked off the project, opening in Fall 2021.

Vice President of Marketing, Suzanne Deatherage, said it’s taking the vacant land neighboring Newport on the Levee and transforming it into something that’s for everybody.

“It’s such a massive vision of execution. We’re certainly working with the local city of Newport, Campbell County, at the state level, and then of course businesses and stakeholders throughout, and quite frankly it’s been supported nonstop,” she said.

Deatherage said two condo buildings will open this summer. The Homewood Suites hotel and unannounced restaurants along the boardwalk will open this year.

A lot of those condos are already bought, and not cheap, at about $1 million each, by people coming in from all around the country.

Deatherage said one of the most attractive features of the project overall is its connectivity and walkability.

“It really is about having everything so conveniently located that you don’t have to hop in your car,” she said. “Ovation is just giving further credence to what the northern Kentucky side has to offer.”

The project punctuates a concerted effort to draw more people to the northern Kentucky region, which Deatherage said seems to be working.