CINCINNATI (FOX19) - The Catalytic Development Funding Corporation of Northern Kentucky is one step closer to reaching their $10 million goal thanks to a significant boost from Downtown-based First Financial Bank. Today, the bank announced a $1 million commitment to the Catalytic Fund.

“We’re proud to have the opportunity to invest in an organization as important as the Catalytic Development Funding Corporation,” said Claude Davis, First Financial’s president and chief executive officer. “The Catalytic Fund will significantly accelerate economic growth and revitalization in our local communities by bringing high-quality businesses and residential developments, creating new job opportunities and attracting more people to the area.”

The Catalytic Development Funding Corporation and its investment fund are designed to serve as catalysts for the redevelopment of Northern Kentucky’s urban cities including in Bellevue, Covington, Dayton, Ludlow and Newport.

COVINGTON, KY (FOX19) - With a focus on job creation and spurring economic development the Northern Kentucky Consensus Committee has unveiled its list of priority projects for the 2012 Kentucky General Assembly session.

The list totals $366.2 million and includes transportation, tourism, education and community projects that will create jobs, spur economic development, jump start residential, commercial and industrial construction and improve public safety throughout the region’s urban core, suburban communities and rural areas.

“Recognizing that funding is tight in the current economic times, these projects will go a long way in enhancing economic vitality and quality of life, not just in Northern Kentucky, but the entire state,” said Consensus Committee Chairman Gary Beatrice of Beatrice Benefits in Fort Mitchell, Ky.