NKY's largest law firm relocates to renovated Monarch Building in Covington - The River City News
Written by Kenton Hornbeck, LINKnky reporter
Northern Kentucky’s largest law firm has officially relocated its headquarters to the renovated historic Monarch Building located at 119 E. 4th Street in Covington. Dressman, Benzinger and LaVelle (DBL Law) moved in on Dec. 21, 2021 and relocated over 70 employees.
“Our new building allows us to build upon our commitment to the community and provides us the opportunity to be a part of the amazing urban renaissance happening in Covington,” said Jim Dressman, a managing partner at the firm from 2013 to 2019.
The firm announced its return to Covington in February 2020.
For Dressman, it’s a return home of sorts. DBL Law was founded 67 years ago in 1955 by his father, Judge Jim Dressman, Jr., and Judge Bill Dunn. Their original location was in a basement office inside a building on the corner of 4th and Garrard streets. The firm then moved to 219 Garrard St. in the 60s. Dressman began working there in 1977.
The firm relocated to Crestview Hills in 1982 in order to expand.
“Nearly 40 years later we found ourselves growing again and believed the time was right for us to return to the vibrant urban core of Covington,” Dressman said.
Their new home, the Monarch Building, is an architecturally and historically important building to Covington and is on the National Register of Historic Places. The building’s original purpose was to house a telephone company. It’s name derives from the Covington-based Monarch Tool Company.
Covington developer Allen Haehnle partnered with Albert Fedders of Fedders Construction in Newport and Construction Manager Chris Thurston to renovate the historic building. Other significant partners included the Catalytic Fund, the City of Covington, Covington Independent Public Schools, Kenton County Fiscal Court, PCA Architects (which designed it), and Republic Bank.
Ground was broken for the project on Sept. 17, 2020. The symbolic placing of the final steel beam happened in April 2021.
The completed renovation created 34,000-square-feet of class A office space. The $11.3 million project includes the addition of two floors, both of which will feature balconies facing the Ohio River. The Monarch Building features an unobstructed view of the Roebling Suspension Bridge into downtown Cincinnati, a new office building just to the west of the existing building, an atrium-like area that provides natural light, and approximately 30 on-premises parking spots.
The new headquarters will provide room for future growth with a combination of unique and historic spaces that will help the firm recruit and retain talented employees.
"The DBL Law Monarch Building headquarters will be a tremendous and lasting addition to the Covington skyline," Fedders said in an April interview with The River City News. "It will serve as the new home of DBL Law but will stand for generations and be here long after we are gone."
Photo: Kenton Hornbeck | LINKnky
source: https://www.rcnky.com/articles/2022/01/19/nkys-largest-law-firm-relocates-renovated-monarch-building-covington
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