Meet Southbank Partners’ Will Weber who leads the team behind Riverfront Commons

By Andy Furman
NKyTribune reporter

Will Weber is one of the lucky ones.

“I found a field I love, in a community I love to work with,” the President and CEO of Southbank Partners told the Covington Rotary Club this week.

Weber majored in Economics at Northern Kentucky University and is taking his knowledge, emotion, and passion to the streets.

Literally.

Southbank Partners is a nonprofit regional economic development organization serving the urban core of Northern Kentucky in the cities of Ludlow, Covington, Newport, Bellevue, Dayton, Fort Thomas, and Silver Grove.

For over 25 years their mission – to promote and coordinate economic development for the creation of connected communities, vibrant riverfronts, and resilient downtowns by facilitating collaboration, bringing vision to reality, and providing a unified voice to represent their common needs and interest of those Norethern Kentucky partnering cities.

Yes, that was a mouthful.

In the past – the early 2000s – Riverfront Commons was the project that helped spark an urban renaissance in those river cities of Northern Kentucky by reconnecting the communities to the riverfront.

The Riverfront Commons brand – RC – is a now a world-class active destination that connects people through a 22-mile greenway along the Ohio River, according to Weber.

“RC is a place,” Weber told the Northern Kentucky Tribune. “It’s more than a walk.”

What it is, today – about a 22-mile pathway from Covington’s Devou Park through Ludlow and on to Bellevue.

“We want to reconnect – not just connect – our cities,” Weber said.

“This project is unique,” he adds, “Yes, there’s the River Walk in San Antonio, but we have the entertainment, the sports, the attractions attractions here; you can’t find this anywhere else.”

He says spanning eight cities across the northern tip of Kentucky is the way to connect with our natural wonders, our favorite places, and the people we love.

“We are,” he boasts, “the Front Porch of the South.:”

That is, a place where every person from every walk of life is invited to explore, he says. “Step into a world of breathtaking views, diverse cultural experiences, and endless outdoor adventure. Move at your own pace and find inspirations around every bend.”

Weber says he and his staff have been working on the river walk for about 20 years, and now it is finally being branded – with a logo.

“It’s bold, and unapologetic,” he says.

The branding, he says, will be sold as a world-class active destination and lifestyle brand.

Did we mention Weber has not stopped with just the branding. He’s promised eight-to-ten-foot-tall signs to promote the project – including promotion on the Ohio side of the river.

“We want this to be a powerful place,” he said. So powerful, in fact, the group has commissioned Road IQ – based in Covington – to develop visual kiosks for informational purposes.

As for those kiosks, Weber says the first wave will be in the city of Dayton and will eventually move to Covington.

The cost? Glad you asked.

“For the first 20 years,” Weber said, “we were building on grants. “Lately, the private sector has been involved. St. Elizabeth Health Care for one.”

The RAISE grant will design and engineer the remaining 12-miles for a consistent, safe, accessible, and innovative riverwalk trail.

The total project cost will be $4,718,675. The 20 percent local match ($944,000) will be covered by Southbank Partners and the cities of Dayton, Ludlow, Bromley, Covington, Newport, Bellevue, Silver Grove, and Campbell County Fiscal Court, Weber said.

Riverfront Commons includes 3.5 miles of riverwalk, Devou Park, Scribble Art Park, Covington Plaza, Love the Cove art sculpture, John R. Roebling Bridge, Roebling Point business district, The Madison Mile, Licking River Greenway, and the future Covington Central Riverfront development.

The Riverwalk will go from Devou Park to Pendery Park and include Covington, Ludlow, Bromley, Newport, Bellevue, Dayton, Fort Thomas, Silver Grove, Melbourne, Campbell County.

Passion, dreaming, and a love for the area – Southbank Partners’ Will Weber is putting it all together in Northern Kentucky.

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