Gateway and City of Covington Initiate New Partnership

Gateway Community & Technical College and the City of Covington announced today the intent to form a unique partnership that will create a new site for the colleges transportation program and the city's fleet maintenance operations.

The college has agreed to purchase the former Robke Auto Dealer property at 1051 Dudley Road, Fort Wright. In the fall of 2015, this site will be the new home of Gateway's Collision Repair Technology, Automotive Technology and Diesel Technology programs now housed at the Amsterdam Road Campus. In addition, Gateway's new Commercial Drivers License (CDL) program will move to this location from the Boone Campus. The exact date of the transition is yet to be determined.

The Gateway Foundation has secured the property via a lease-purchase option, and the college will complete the purchase of this approximately 11 acre site this summer, or early in the fall, for $3.9 million.

In 2014, the city decided to assess all facilities and develop a long-term replacement plan for aging structural facilities, said City Manager Larry Klein. The city is seriously evaluating this site for fleet maintenance and possibly moving other operations to the site in the future.

Through this unique partnership, the City of Covington's fleet maintenance operation could provide additional live work for Gateway students. The details of the collaborative will be worked out over the summer months.

The relocation of Gateway's transportation programs will allow the college to vacate the Amsterdam Road/Park Hills Campus, paving the way for the long-anticipated sale of the property with proceeds to further develop the Urban Metro Campus in downtown Covington.

We are very excited our four year search has ended, and we have this unique opportunity for our students and the community, said Dr. G. Edward Hughes Gateway President/CEO. The location, just off I-275 in Ft. Wright, Kentucky, is ideal for both parties. Once again, we are partnering with our community to offer students real-world work experiences, working on everything from automobiles to fire engines and other large diesel engines.

The City is looking forward to working with Gateway to make better use of and share our tax dollars in a manner that supports economic development in our urban core, and accomplishing a city goal to replace outdated and inefficient facilities, said Klein.