Downtown Covington 'reinvents itself' with $12M hotel expansion, new restaurant with rooftop bar
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25 new hotel rooms, 7 condominiums, a new high-end restaurant and a rooftop bar - all coming to 300 block of New Hampshire St.
Downtown Covington 'reinvents itself' as work begins big hotel expansion, new restaurant and rooftop bar
When Lisa Condrey Ward reopened the dormant Southern Hotel in downtown Covington in 2014, the refurbished building quickly became a draw for locals and tourists alike.
It became a place to enjoy a post-work old fashioned in the lobby bar or a hub for a few days of northshore restaurant and bar hopping.
But reopening the 48-room, circa-1907 hotel didn't just provide much-needed lodging or a nice place to pass a midweek happy hour. It also reinvigorated the whole downtown area, northshore political and tourism officials say.
Now, as the reopened hotel enters its 10th year, it is prepping for a big expansion that Ward pegs in the $11 million to $12 million range. Construction on that expansion, called "Summer House," could begin as soon as next month.
The hotel expansion and another project also expected to begin soon in the 300 block of New Hampshire Street — a building at the site of the old Star Theater that will house a high-end restaurant, rooftop bar and some office space — will provide a shot in the arm for entertainment and tourism in downtown Covington, officials say.