COVINGTON, Ky. — Local and state leaders gathered to celebrate the groundbreaking of the Commonwealth Center for Biomedical Excellence, a transformative project combining legal and medical education at a single facility in downtown Covington's riverfront district.

The $125 million center, located at 11 East RiverCenter Boulevard, will house Northern Kentucky University's Salmon P. Chase College of Law and the University of Kentucky College of Medicine's Northern Kentucky campus. Construction is expected to be completed by the end of 2028, with classes beginning in January 2029.

The project represents a partnership among the two universities, Kenton County and the Northern Kentucky Port Authority, which owns the building. The facility was funded by the Kentucky General Assembly in 2024.

Chase College of Law will bring more than 500 graduate students, faculty and staff back to Covington, where the school operated from 1972 to 1981 before relocating to the NKU campus in Highland Heights. The new space will also allow the UK College of Medicine to increase enrollment at its Northern Kentucky campus by 40 percent, addressing regional physician shortages.

"We are thrilled to put shovels in the ground and transform this parking lot into a world-class facility," said Christine Russell, executive director of the Northern Kentucky Port Authority. NKU President Cady Short-Thompson called the project "the future of higher education and regional collaboration," while Covington Mayor Ron Washington noted it will establish the city as a center for education and innovation.

Pepper Construction and MSA Design were selected in March as the design-build team, supported by SLAM, THP Limited, Heapy, The Kleingers Group and Design 27. Construction is set to begin in early July.