Every week, hundreds of people are expected to visit and work at SparkHaus, Northern Kentucky’s new home for entrepreneurs on Madison Avenue in Covington. For the first time in Northern Kentucky’s history, this building brings together startups, venture capitalists and business mentors under one roof.
Throughout spring and summer, local business and elected leaders and other community members took the opportunity to tour the under-construction building, which brings a modern approach to entrepreneurship while retaining core elements of Covington’s history.
Blue North, the Kentucky Innovation Hub for 17 counties in Northern Kentucky, developed SparkHaus and will oversee its programming and operations.
Northern Kentucky Port Authority Executive Director Christine Russell said SparkHaus was designed with startups and flexibility in mind. These companies are often fast-growing, and owners cannot commit to a long-term lease.
SparkHaus offers multiple membership options, enabling high-growth companies to leverage the building’s space and resources, located throughout three floors of the building. Blue North Executive Director Dave Knox said SparkHaus’ design creates “collision points,” ensuring entrepreneurs, venture capitalists and business mentors cross paths regularly.
Base-level membership grants access to the first-floor coworking space, which will have seats for roughly 60 people.
The first floor will also house some retail space and a café operated by Better Blend, a healthy and nutrient-rich smoothie and acai bowl shop founded by entrepreneur Isaac Hamlin in 2018. This café will also be open to the public.
“We don’t want to be isolated from the broader community,” said Blue North Operations Manager Mitko Karshovski.
For high-growth and venture-backed startups that need a larger or more consistent location to work, SparkHaus’ second floor features 34 private offices, ranging in size from two desks to 10. Of companies that have already signed leases for these offices, many are investing in physical office space for the first time.
More than 30 dedicated desks are available in a large common area on the second floor for tenants who don’t necessarily need an office but want a set place to call home. Blue North will have offices on the Mezzanine and Better Blend will have offices on the second floor.
The basement of the building holds a variety of extra amenities for members, including conference rooms, two storage bays, media and podcasting rooms, and even a gym, which is accessible to all members.
Other features throughout the building include a large event space, library and dedicated area for mail deliveries.
Multiple venture capital companies will reside in SparkHaus, including eGateway Capital, SparkHaus’ anchor tenant and Kentucky’s largest venture capital firm.
SparkHaus will locate in a renovated 51,000-square-foot building constructed in 1929 to house the Montgomery Ward & Co. department store.
This $16 million project received state and federal historic tax credits and several historic features of the building were kept, including four private offices in the former teller area of the building.
A board room on the second floor also pays homage to the “Covington Industrial Club,” founded on the site in 1911 by 100 business leaders and a precursor to the Northern Kentucky Chamber of Commerce.
SparkHaus will also honor the donors who helped make this endeavor possible, such as the Carol Ann & Ralph V. Haile Jr. and R.C. Durr foundations, by giving these organizations naming rights to areas and featuring the success stories of their namesakes throughout the building.
Further funding for SparkHaus includes $6 million from the Kentucky General Assembly and $3 million from Kenton County’s Site Development Fund. Knox and Kenton County Judge/Executive Kris Knochelmann were also instrumental in raising funds for this project.
“We want Northern Kentucky’s entrepreneurs to have an unfair advantage in the startup community both locally and nationally,” said Russell. “SparkHaus provides them with all the tools they need to be successful in one location, and we can’t wait to see the new success stories that take root.”
Book a tour of SparkHaus today: https://sparkhaus.co/book-a-tour/.
About the Northern Kentucky Port Authority
The Northern Kentucky Port Authority (NKY Port) was jointly formed as an economic development organization by Boone, Campbell, and Kenton counties in 1968 under the provisions of KRS 65.510 to 65.650. The NKY Port is a managed entity of BE NKY Growth Partnership and it was activated in 2022 as a real estate and development tool as a key initiative of the Build + Elevate Northern Kentucky investor campaign.
