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Newport Hotel Associates received preliminary approval from the Kentucky Tourism Development Finance Authority (KTDFA) for incentives totaling nearly $33.4 million for a Margaritaville Hotel Resort at Newport on the Levee, Gov. Andy Beshear announced on Wednesday.

The joint venture partnership between North American Properties (NAP), Stormont Hospitality Group and High Street Real Estate Partners, plans to build a $133.6 million complex. It includes a full-service, amenity-rich hotel featuring 264 guest rooms, a JWB Grill, License to Chill Bar, a 12th-floor pool with an adjacent Five O’clock Somewhere Bar and Grill overlooking downtown Cincinnati, retail space and more than 10,000 square feet of meeting and event space, including a 2,000-square-foot rooftop offering.  Construction is estimated to be complete by fall of 2026.

“We just celebrated our best year on record for Kentucky tourism in 2022, and with exciting projects like Margaritaville being announced, we know this success will only continue,” Beshear said. “This resort will help drive visitors to the Campbell County area, boosting the local economy and creating 282 new jobs for Kentuckians. We are grateful to these leaders for choosing Kentucky and our workforce.”

Jim Stormont, president of Atlanta-based Stormont Hospitality Group stated, “This will bring an unmatched resort-style experience to the area, making it a true game-changer for attracting new convention business and leisure travel to Northern Kentucky and the greater Commonwealth. We are appreciative of both the city of Newport and the Commonwealth for providing the leadership and support necessary to bring this vision to reality. We look forward to continuing this partnership as we work to complete this exciting project, which will create significant economic impacts throughout the region for years to come.”

Tourism is a $12.9 billion industry in Kentucky, generating 91,668 jobs across the state.  In Campbell County, tourism supports 1,024 jobs and generated over $179 million in economic impact in 2022, a 9% increase from 2021.  This year, Kentucky has given final approval to eight tourism development projects for an estimated economic investment of $286 million.