Lexington Development News

[krosejr]

From the Lexington Herald-Leader :bash:
This is a shame!
Posted on Wed, Feb. 16, 2005
Proposed condos cut to 7 floors
Neighbors in historic district praise reduction
By John Stamper
HERALD-LEADER STAFF WRITER
A condominium complex proposed for a historic downtown neighborhood got a buzz cut last night, dropping from the 15 floors proposed in September to seven.
Many residents of the Historic South Hill neighborhood praised the height reduction during a meeting of the Urban County Board of Architectural Review, saying they now feel more comfortable with the project proposed by Gameday Centers LLC of Atlanta.
"This is a vast improvement," said Dan Terrel, who is vice president of the Historic South Hill neighborhood association.
The neighborhood group's president, Jack Ballard, is also owner of the proposed development site.
Positioned a bounce pass away from Rupp Arena at the southeast corner of Broadway and High Street, the 119-unit project is expected to provide luxury living space for "those who live for the game."
The 1.3-acre lot is now home to a vacant lot, a historic home and a one-story office building. The historic home at 316 West High Street, built in 1808 and now used as office space, will be preserved as a fitness center and conference facility. The one-story office building will be demolished.
The latest plans for the proposed development call for 8,000 square feet of first-floor retail space, topped by a two-story parking garage and four stories of residential space.
Those plans were unveiled last night after Ballard withdrew a set of drawings that called for an 11-story structure, which the Board of Architectural Review was set to vote on.
All new buildings and modifications to existing buildings within the city's historic districts must receive the five-member Board of Architectural Review's blessing. The board is now expected to vote on the new proposal at its March 15 meeting.
Ballard also asked for a postponement of a separate but related proposal to remove the project site from the South Hill Historic District, an action that would eliminate any limits on the building's height.
As part of the historic district, the new development must be on a similar scale with adjacent neighbors. The city's historic preservation office interprets that requirement to mean that any new building must be similar in size to the two and three-story residences that sit south of the development site.
However, as a property on the historic district's edge, Ballard has argued that high rise buildings along the north side of High Street and the West side of Broadway should be considered when deciding an appropriate height for the condo complex.
Although height had been the development's major stumbling block, some board members still expressed reservations about the latest proposal. Most notably, they questioned why the building was planned to extend all the way to the sidewalk's edge. Most other properties along the south side of High Street are set back about 35 feet from the sidewalk.
"I'm concerned about how the structure relates to the street," said board member Terry Hainley, who suggested he would support raising the building's height by one floor if architects would move the structure away from the street.

[krosejr]

Posted on Thu, Feb. 17, 2005
Sisters end fight to keep airport off historic farm
RUNWAY EXPANSION WILL USE 14 ACRES

By Brandon Ortiz
HERALD-LEADER STAFF WRITER
Five sisters have given up their longtime fight to keep about 14 acres of historic Stony Point Farm, which Blue Grass Airport will now use for an expansion of the primary runway's safety area.
The final sale price has not been determined, but the farm's owners have agreed to drop their claims that the airport does not have the right to take the land in a condemnation case in Fayette Circuit Court, said Tom Halbleib, an airport attorney. In exchange, the airport will pay about $200,000 to four of the sisters for the land.
Frances Lee McKinney, the only sister who lives on the land, has indicated that she might ask a jury to determine her share, Halbleib said. She owns 6.2 percent of the property. Court-appointed appraisers valued the land at $150,000 last summer.
The agreement means that the airport could own the land by May, airport officials said.
"From a big-picture perspective, this is good for the community," Halbleib said. "It allows this project to proceed."
Attorneys for the McKinney sisters either declined to comment yesterday or did not return phone calls.
The settlement ended 20 years of feuding between the airport and the McKinneys. In 1985, the airport wanted to take much more land for a proposed 6,000-foot parallel runway, a plan that eventually stalled. More controversy erupted in the 1990s over other runway proposals.
The family had vowed to fight expansion into its property from the outset.
"This is devastating for the family," Frances McKinney told the Herald-Leader in 1985. "We'll fight to the end, we'll fight on the beaches with bottles, we'll do whatever we have to do to protect our farm."
As part of the agreement, the airport will build an access road reaching Stony Point Farm. Halbleib said the airport also will work with the family on landscaping to reduce the effect of a 328-foot long retaining wall on the scenic area.
The airport has said it needs the land to expand the runway's safety areas to 600 feet at both ends and to comply with Federal Aviation Administration regulations.
Airport officials said they had to acquire land south of the runway because they are boxed in to the north by Versailles Road and part of Keeneland Race Course, a National Historic Landmark.
The family, which trains thoroughbred horses at the farm, has said in court filings that the $35 million project will build on the only piece of flat land suitable for galloping and exercising horses on the 154-acre property.
The farm, built by Revolutionary War hero Capt. John Parker in 1790, is eligible to be on the National Register of Historic Places.

[krosejr]

IT'S THE BIGGEST PARCEL OF PRIVATE LAND EVER GIVEN TO CITY
By Michelle Ku
HERALD-LEADER STAFF WRITER
A picturesque piece of land in rural northeast Fayette County with rolling hills, large pastures and several ponds will soon become Lexington's newest community park.
And the city didn't have to pay a cent for the land.
That's because Robert E. Hisle and Anita E. O'Roark Hisle donated their 280-acre farm at 3601 Briar Hill Road to the city. The Hisles deeded the farm to the city in 1989 with the stipulation that they be allowed to live on it until their deaths.
Robert Hisle died in 1996 at age 88.
Anita Hisle died March 1. She was 92.
In honor of the Hisles and to memorialize their gift, the city plans to name the property Hisle Park.
At 280 acres, Hisle Park will be the second largest park in Fayette County. The largest is 660-acre Masterson Station Park.
The Hisles' donation is also the largest private land donation for a park that the city has ever received. The largest parkland donation came from the federal government in 1972, when it deeded Masterson Station Park to Fayette County.
The Hisle farm is valued at $790,000.
Everyone in Fayette County should be grateful to the Hisles, Mayor Teresa Isaac said earlier this month in a tribute to Anita Hisle.
"It is through the gifts of people like the Hisles that Lexington has been able to acquire land we could never afford to buy and to guarantee green space for generations of citizens to come," Isaac said.
The farm the Hisles donated had been in the family for several generations. It was a working farm where hay and tobacco were grown. It also had an apple orchard.
Robert Hisle, a native of Fayette County, was born on the farm. Robert Hisle married Anita O'Roark in 1936.
Anita O'Roark Hisle was born in Rutherford, N.J. She grew up in New Jersey, but her family had roots in Kentucky and West Virginia. Her father was a graduate student at the University of Kentucky.
Robert Hisle was a combat engineer in the U.S. Army who fought to recapture the Philippines from the Japanese in World War II. He retired from the Army as a lieutenant colonel in 1966 and the couple returned to the farm.
"He was a rugged gentleman of the South, and he was very loyal to Kentucky and particularly Fayette County," said Del O'Roark, Anita Hisle's nephew.
Robert Hisle loved Fayette County so much that in 1987, he decided to donate his family land to the city. The Hisles didn't have any living children. Their only son, Larry, was killed in a car wreck in 1980.
The decision to donate the land was consistent with his loyalty and love of the Bluegrass, O'Roark said. "His son was gone. He felt the Hisle Farm should be dedicated to the citizens of Lexington."
When the Hisles donated the land, no one knew that residential development in Lexington eventually would move toward the northeast part of the county.
The Hisle farm is located in a part of the city that is now experiencing tremendous growth, said Chuck Ellis, director of the city's Division of Parks and Recreation. "It's really a godsend. It will definitely give us some options of how to go forward."
The size and location of the property presents the city with plenty of options for using the park.
The city hasn't yet decided what it will do with the park, but ideas range from construction of walking trails and ball fields to equine facilities and picnic tables. Another idea is to stock the ponds with fish to provide a community fishing spot.
"It's a beautiful piece of land," said Kathy DeBoer, the city's general services commissioner. "It's what all of us who live in Central Kentucky love about Central Kentucky."
The city's 1996 parks master plan recommends the Briar Hill property be developed with a mixture of active and passive park facilities to eliminate overcrowding and overuse at Kenawood, Dixie, Mary Todd and Coolivan, nearby neighborhood parks.
The parks department wants to involve the neighborhood, community members and the Hisle heirs in deciding what to do with the land. At this point, no process or deadline has been set. For now, the city is renting out the land as horse pasture.
O'Roark said the family hopes the city will honor the Hisles with a plaque at the park's entrance.
It would also be nice if the city named the park something along the lines of the Robert E. and Anita E. Hisle Memorial Park, he said. "The family would appreciate they get the appropriate recognition for the gift," he said.
But in terms of soccer fields, equine facilities or playground, the family does not have a specific vision for how the park is used, he said.
"We hope that the land will be used in a way that will give the greatest number of citizens in the community access to it," O'Roark said. "We trust the city to honor the intention of the gift, and I have no doubt that they would do it."

[krosejr]

Urban Housing

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Posted on Tue, Mar. 08, 2005
Lexington Herald-Leader
Program to help urban housing
$4.1 MILLION IN LOANS AVAILABLE TO DEVELOPERS
By Beverly Fortune
HERALD-LEADER STAFF WRITER
A $4.1 million loan program to spur residential growth in downtown Lexington will be available to developers later this month.
At a news conference yesterday, downtown supporters said they hope the economic impact of the Lexington Downtown Housing Fund can be leveraged into $40 million worth of new housing. Developers can begin applying for loans within 10 days.
The fund is a public-private for-profit partnership between the city of Lexington, nine local banks and the Kentucky League of Cities.
With 200 downtown residential units completed and 678 more in the works, there is growing interest in downtown living, said Harold Tate, president and executive director of the Downtown Development Authority, which will administer the money.
"But many developers have had trouble getting financing. This is to educate bankers about the demand for downtown living," he said.
Tate called the program "gap funding," where a developer who gets an 80 percent loan from a bank can apply to the Housing Fund for another 10 percent. Developers can receive a maximum 10 percent loan, repayable over 10 years. Competitive interest rates will vary.
"On a $5 million project, we would put in $500,000, the developer would put in $500,000 and the banks would put in $4 million," said Steve Grossman, chairman of the Development Authority.
The League of Cities contributed $2 million that will be disbursed by the city to the fund. The banks matched that with $2.1 million.
Participating banks are BB&T, Bank of the Bluegrass & Trust, Bank One, Central Bank, Community Trust Bank, Fifth Third Bank, National City Bank, Republic Bank and-USBank.
Grossman said that if the fund proves popular, banks have indicated their willingness to increase the loan pool to $5 million.
"I suspect we've got $40 million in projects ready to submit right now," he added. As the borrowed money is repaid, "We can loan it out again and again."
Tate said banks have not done a lot of urban projects, "so hopefully this will make them feel a little bit more at ease about downtown housing." By pooling their money, "It's not as big a risk for each one."
The authority and bank presidents have worked six months to set up the housing fund. "A lot of banks have contacted their banks in other cities and found out what's going on in Cleveland, Chicago, Columbus, Nashville," Tate said. "They are beginning to realize this is not just a movement occurring here in Lexington, but is happening everywhere."
A similar loan pool of money was set up in Louisville three years ago, said Garry Throckmorton, senior vice president at Republic Bank & Trust Co. in Louisville. It has sparked more than 2,500 urban housing units.
In Lexington, Robert Tru-jillo, developer of City Court with 54 units under construction on Martin Luther King Boulevard, said the housing fund "will be a tremendous help."
"What it means is we have to come up with less money, and that's always helpful," he said

[krosejr]

Posted on Thu, Mar. 24, 2005
Leestown Road bridge to close for replacement
By Brandon Ortiz
HERALD-LEADER STAFF WRITER
The Leestown Road bridge is showing its age.
Concrete has been chipping off the pillars of the Depression-era bridge, exposing the steel beneath. Rust covers the steel arch of the bridge, which 16,000 vehicles travel daily.
The steel truss bridge built in the 1930s is nearing the end of its life, state engineers say. On April 4, contractors will begin to put it to rest.
The bridge will be closed for up to 99 days so crews can demolish and rebuild it. The project will not significantly improve traffic flow, but during the $9.4 million project thousands of motorists will have to find other ways to get downtown. The project will mean a new turning lane just beyond the bridge, and wider shoulders, but no additional travel lanes.
State highway officials say they have no choice.
"It is deteriorating bad," said Randy Turner, project manager for Highway Department District 7, which covers Central Kentucky. "If you look at it, 'Is it going to fall down?' It's not that kind of deal," but it still must be replaced.
State highway officials say they've done everything possible to alleviate inconveniences to nearby residents and businesses. They met with neighborhood groups, talked to businesses and even set up a Web site, us421.ky.gov, said David Thacker, District 7 spokes-man.
The project was timed to avoid conflicts with University of Kentucky basketball and the high school Sweet Sixteen, which generate traffic on U.S. 421 to downtown and Rupp Arena.
The state went to the unusual length of requiring the contractor, Faulkner Construction, to pay $25,000 in "damages" for each day it goes past its mid-July deadline, Thacker said. When examining bids, state officials also considered how quickly contractors said they could finish the project.
"We're doing everything we can to get this project over as soon as possible," Thacker said. "You are talking about a major arterial into Lexington, and there will be some inconvenience."
A center turning lane will be added north of the bridge to the Forbes Road intersection. Officials say that's the only addition that will improve traffic capacity.
Crews also will expand the bridge's negligible shoulders to 6 feet.
The wider shoulders will eliminate a blind turn off Price Road south of the bridge, Turner said. A concrete wall currently impedes motorists' line of sight.
"You have to get your nose out in oncoming traffic just to see the cars," Turner said.
'A lot of accidents'
News of the intersection's improvements drew sighs of relief from employees at Palumbo Lumber and Manufacturing Co., adjacent to the intersection.
"We have seen a lot of accidents, more than should be allowed really," said Jack Tucker, who calls himself semi-retired as general manager. He worked there 45 years.
Employees recalled one fatal wreck about a decade ago when a driver, blinded by the sun, could not see over the bridge's incline and ran into a tractor-trailer turning onto the road.
In 1996, a police patrol car crashed into the Palumbo office after smashing into a car making the turn. A hydraulic rescue tool was used to free the officer, who survived.
The turn is so dangerous that Palumbo's truck drivers are asked not to turn left onto the bridge, Tucker said. He conceded that some do anyway.
Tall enough for trains underneath
Tucker's biggest complaint is the bridge's incline, which makes it difficult to see cars on the other side of the bridge.
Highway officials say they can't flatten the bridge, because it must be tall enough for trains on the Norfolk-Southern rail line below. The line will close for part of a day when crews dismantle the truss, the steel arch structure that props up the bridge.
Improvements aside, some neighbors said they are irked at dealing with three months of construction noise and hassles for a project that doesn't alleviate traffic problems.
"They could at least widen it or something," said Tamra Perry, who lives on Clyde Street. "If they are going to put that much work into it, they might as well do something useful while they are at it."
Historic cemeteries that line both sides of West Main Street limit what highway officials can do, Thacker said. Federal highway regulations make it extremely difficult for states to disturb historic properties, he said.
And buying right-of-way access would have been prohibitively expensive, he added. State engineers have worked on the project since 1995.
Transportation officials said that without room to widen U.S. 421 south of the bridge, they will have to rely on alternate routes to get residents of Masterson Station and other subdivisions off Leestown Road to downtown.
There are new subdivisions going up off Leestown but traffic along the stretch of road is not projected to grow dramatically, despite the planned residential growth north of New Circle Road, according to the Lexington Area Metropolitan Planning Organization.
The vehicle count on U.S. 421 just before New Circle, for example, is expected to grow from 21,800 in 2003 to 25,000 in 2020.
Metropolitan Planning Organization director Max Conyers said the planned extension of Citation Boulevard to Leestown Road will funnel more traffic onto Georgetown Road. That construction is scheduled to begin in 2007.
"It will help that traffic distribute more evenly," Conyers said

[krosejr]

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v511/krosejr/Lexington%202/Billboard_MainRose.jpg

Downtown Lexington's Newest and Best Mixed Use Community

Quality of life has come to downtown Lexington!

Imagine living in a downtown Lexington community where you can walk downstairs one level to work out, walk down another level to eat, grab a cup of coffee and do your grocery shopping, and then take the elevator back up to your residential loft condo.

The Lofts at Main and Rose will range in size from 600 - 3000 square feet, and sales prices will start in the $140's.

Among the features and amenities included at Main & Rose:
- 150 loft condos
- 2 story fitness center
- Swimming pool, basketball court, locker rooms, etc, etc
- Downtown urban grocery
- First floor retail
- Restaurants with open air seating
- 500 space parking garage with reserved spaces for condo owners
- Valet parking
Expected completion date: 2007

[krosejr]

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v511/krosejr/Lexington%202/real_estate.jpg

Dramatic 17 foot ceilings. Large, expansive balconies. Open floorplans. Exposed brick. Secure, covered parking.
These are just a few of the features and amenities awaiting owners of the Nunn Building Lofts.
Unit sizes range from 1600-2400 square feet, and prices range from the $250's to the low $500's.
Construction will begin in May 2005, and will be completed in May 2006.
To learn more about purchaseing a unit in Lexington's premier downtown loft condo development, please contact us via e-mail, or call Phil Holoubek at 859.225.3476.
We'll be happy to send you an information packet, and answer any questions you may have.
We're taking reservations now!

[krosejr]

Visit the website for pics and info:
www.newtownextension.com

Editorial
By Ed Holmes And Stephen D. Austin
LEXINGTON, KY -- Lexington is on the verge of beginning one of the largest urban development projects in its history.
The Newtown Pike project, which will create a connector from West Main Street to South Broadway near the University of Kentucky will open up dozens of acres on the southwest side of downtown Lexington for rehabilitation and redevelopment.
Most significant, the project will usher in a plan for the complete transformation of one of the city's poorest, most needy areas: Southend Park.
Unlike failed urban projects of the past, this transformation will not come about at the expense of residents in this area.
The plan for the extended Newtown Pike, which will affect this neighborhood, includes a unique component: a concern for social justice.
Without this part of the plan, there would be no funds to build the new road. This relationship between road building and civic responsibility is unique in Lexington's history, if not Kentucky's.
Our team, which also includes Sherman Carter Barnhart Architects, was chosen to develop the plan that would accommodate the road, protect existing residents and prepare for new development.
To set a defining goal for the project, the team met extensively with local residents, developers and city officials.
The resulting goal was for this development to become a diversified, vibrant and vital community, where people of all races and social strata could live together.
To achieve this goal, the design team set about creating plans for an urban village. Successful urban villages, new and old, are based on timeless principles such as human scale, handsome architecture, interconnected streets and lively pedestrian activity. Parks, squares and public buildings are used to link a development's various elements into a cohesive whole.
The designers of the Southend Park plan have laid the foundations for a great urban village, one that will be a model not only for Lexington, but also for the rest of the state.
In the plan for Southend Park, buildings are close to the street, wide sidewalks line the street grid and there are many mixed uses, such as offices, small shops and restaurants.
A central plaza will serve as the community gathering space. Prominent public buildings will give the neighborhood a strong character. Buildings will screen parking lots. The existing ballfields will be incorporated into the plan along with new community vegetable gardens.
To ensure that the area does not become gentrified at the expense of existing residents and that it does not remain disadvantaged, the project designers have created a delicate balance of residential uses.
Housing units here will be the most varied in the city. Not only will the existing residents be accommodated in new units at or near the same housing costs they are paying now, but also they will have an opportunity to buy new single-family homes if they desire.
Other types of units -- such as apartments, loft condominiums and townhouses -- will be reserved at affordable market rates. This mix will create a diverse yet stable neighborhood.
The success of the Southend Park plan bodes well for the future of Lexington and the Bluegrass region. Downtown developers will strive to match this plan's socially fair and physically beautiful principles.
The University of Kentucky will have a new front door worthy of a world-class institution.
Preservation advocates will gain new confidence that the tide of development is truly turning inward, away from the region's greenfields.
The city will gain not only vital new tax resources but also a model of sustainable economic development.
This is an exciting time for Lexington. We are overcoming our late-20th-century lethargy. The plan for Southend Park proves that concern for people, fairness, and beauty are great principles on which to move a city forward.

[SChristopher]

All of this stuff looks so awesome and somewhat cosmopolitan for a city of Lexington's size. I love that you take the time to post all of this, good reading.

[krosejr]

^^^Thanks! I enjoy doing it. There's a lot going on here...:)

[krosejr]

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v511/krosejr/Lexington%202/img_downtown01.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v511/krosejr/Lexington%202/img_downtown02.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v511/krosejr/Lexington%202/img_downtown03.jpg

Scheduled for completion in September 2006, this will be the first major, mixed-use development in downtown Lexington in over 100 years.
The 500's on Main will be a complete and vibrant community where people will live work and play. Situated on two acres of downtown Lexington's most desirable real estate, the community will feature soaring residential lofts, contemporary workspaces, and Lexington's finest retail. This development will be located on almost two acres of land on the 500 block of West Main Street across from the newly completed Civic Center. The development will consist of 8 new buildings and 1 renovated building.
Planned for the residential space are 64 loft condominiums. Each loft will contain a versatile and open living space with highest quality interior finishes. This includes hardwood flooring, interior brick, and European kitchens. All residential spaces will have balconies that overlook Main St. or the 10,000 sq. ft. courtyard located in the center of the community.
The most prominent building in the devel-opment will be the seven story residential tower. Each floor will be an extraordinary individual living unit with private elevator access opening directly into the unit.
The 500's on Main will also contain over 30,000 sq. ft. of retail space. Most of this space will be located on Main St. level. The List of possible venders include restaurants, clothiers, and urban cafes/grocers.
Parking for The 500s will be in a garage beneath the courtyard and restricted to loft residents. However, there will be street parking all around the community, several Historic Architecture and Preservation, says about The 500s: "This is a perfect block."
The 500s on Main is being developed by Robin, Butch, and Kerry Schneider of Schneider Designs.

Schneider Designs, Inc.
Building tomorrow — today
351 Beaumont Center Circle
Suite 300
Lexington, Kentucky 40513
Tel 859.224.9700
Fax 859.224.9722

[Jeff]

The development in Lex you are posting about is pretty impressive. Whats really impressive is that this stuff is designed to more or less fit-in with the city, which is key as Lex has such a great old cityscape.

[krosejr]

By Jim Jordan
HERALD-LEADER BUSINESS WRITER
A Fortune 500 company with operations in eight Kentucky cities won preliminary approval yesterday for up to $5 million in state tax incentives if it opens regional headquarters in Lexington.
Dallas-based Affiliated Computer Services, or ACS, said unidentified sites in Lexington, Oregon and Utah were being considered for the center, which would have 128,000 square feet and 409 employees.
Wages would range from $10.30 to $43.27 an hour, plus benefits, if the center is located in Lexington, the company told the Kentucky Economic Development Financial Authority.
The authority's board approved the ACS application yesterday for benefits under the Kentucky Jobs Development Act.
No other details about the Lexington project were available from the company yesterday.
In February, ACS, which provides corporate outsourcing and information technology services, announced plans to open a 43,000-square-foot call center in Pikeville.
At that time, ACS had 10 other Kentucky locations, including four in Lexington and one each in Beattyville, Liberty, London, Louisville, Monticello and Richmond.
In March, the company bought the human resources consulting business of Pittsburgh-based Mellon Financial Corp. for $445 million.
ACS was ranked 445th on the Fortune 500 list of America's largest companies in 2004. In the fiscal year ended June 30, the company had sales of $4.1 billion and profits of $529.8 million.
The company's stock is listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol ACS. Shares closed yesterday at $53.24, up 27 cents.

[krosejr]

AN EXTENDED VIRGINIA OFFERED AS ALTERNATIVE
By Brandon Ortiz
HERALD-LEADER STAFF WRITER
On any given weekday, students outpace the slowly moving cars on Rose Street, the south Lexington artery that runs through the heart of the University of Kentucky campus.
For more than 20 years, the university has floated ideas of closing the congested two-lane road to protect students who must dart across it. None have ever gained much traction with neighbors, elected officials or city traffic planners who say Rose is a crucial connection from downtown to South Limestone Avenue, or U.S. 27.
Taking a new approach, UK is making its most serious and concentrated push at permanently changing Rose Street.
This time, improving medical facilities -- rather than pedestrian safety -- is the driving force, officials say. A plan to close Rose from Limestone to Huguelet Drive is linked with a $375 million inpatient care building that officials say will boost the local economy.
And the university has offered to give commuters an alternate route to downtown by extending and widening Virginia Avenue from Limestone to Rose.
Officials will present their plans to the Urban County Council "within the next several weeks," said Bob Wiseman, UK vice president of facilities management. The council would have to approve any changes.
With the council's approval, that part of Rose would close in late summer of 2006. The Virginia Avenue extension could be finished about the same time.

No options, officials say
Regional traffic planners appear poised to sign off on the plan, but it could prove controversial among neighborhood groups who fought previous proposals.
"UK is trying to totally block us out of that area," said Lisa Johnson, a self-described community activist who lives on Transylvania Park. "There is a lot of people against closing Rose."
The medical center has no other options, officials say. A planned 1,000-space parking garage and horseshoe driveway to the hospital's entrance make closing part of Rose Street necessary to avoid congestion, according to a traffic study by Wilbur Smith Associates, an engineering firm hired by UK.
The hospital plans to tear down its current 680-space garage, which is about 15 years old, and build the new patient care facility there.
Murray B. Clark Jr., associate vice president for medical center operations, said UK has nowhere else to put the complex. The bed tower must be near surgery suites so patients can be wheeled easily to their room, he said.
"I've got to create for the hospital and the consumer the most efficient care delivery system possible," Clark said. "And that is what this is set up to do."
That will require building a new garage. Officials plan to place it on the west side of Limestone between Conn Terrace and Transcript Avenue, where a shopping center and apartments now rest.
If Rose stays open, then there would be three stoplights between Conn and Rose, clogging Limestone traffic, according to the traffic study.
That still means that several residents and small businesses will have to move. Wiseman said the university is negotiating with 11 property owners. If negotiations falter, the university has the authority to condemn the land, he said.
P.J. McDonald, who owns P.J.'s Barber Shop, is not pleased about having to move after being located across the street from the medical center for 13 years. The proximity of the hospital and university gave her a steady customer base.
"It took a long time to build a business," McDonald said. "I'm going to have to start all over."

Rerouting traffic
Officials have shied away from saying they want to "close" part of Rose Street. Instead, they have referred to it as a realignment.
The university proposes extending and widening Virginia Avenue to three lanes -- one of which is a center turning lane -- with additional right turning lanes as an alternate route, said John Carr of Wilbur Smith Associates.
A greenhouse on campus will be torn down so Virginia will connect from Limestone to Rose.
"You're really not closing Rose Street ... and letting traffic disperse across throughout the network," said Carr, a former Kentucky Transportation Cabinet engineer. "We're closing the Rose Street intersection and giving them a realignment to use."
That realignment might be enough to get the Lexington Area Metropolitan Planning Organization's blessing. Director Max Conyers thinks the extension will adequately reroute traffic.
"Every concern we have raised they have taken care of in their proposal," Conyers said. "We won't go (to the council) and say, 'Hey, we're scared about this and they're not doing anything about it.'"
The study found that about 60 percent of Rose's southbound traffic in the morning and evening goes to the medical center. Only about 26 percent of northbound traffic was headed downtown.
Past traffic counts have shown that between 11,000 and 20,000 cars a day travel on Rose, said Rob Hammons, a city senior transportation planner.

Residents concerned
Some neighbors fear drivers wouldn't use the new route.
Jim Dickinson, an attorney who lives on Transylvania Park, thinks commuters will opt to take Woodland Avenue, wrap around the university library to University Drive and then take Cooper Drive to get to South Limestone.
But it's doubtful motorists will choose to make so many left and right turns and deal with student traffic from dormitories and the library, Carr said.
Lea Terry, president of the Elizabeth Street Neighborhood Association, says she's leaning against the proposal but is still undecided. She's waiting to see the plans before making up her mind.
"I can tell you my knee jerk reaction is going to be a negative one," she said." ... I think it boils down to traffic and exactly what impact that is going to have on streets and homes, quality of life, quality of sleep (and) quality of pedestrian safety. I want to see what they are going to pitch."

[krosejr]

The development in Lex you are posting about is pretty impressive. Whats really impressive is that this stuff is designed to more or less fit-in with the city, which is key as Lex has such a great old cityscape.

I agree Jeff, they are trying very hard to keep the new developement to certain standards so it doesn't take away from the "old charm" of D-town Lex.

[krosejr]

Frankfort, Ky. - Governor Ernie Fletcher and Economic Development Cabinet Secretary Gene Strong, along with officials from the University of Kentucky and the City of Lexington are pleased to announce that Belcan Engineering Group has been selected to open a new Engineering Design Center for Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation. Belcan expects to open the new Center in Lexington in early January 2005, with up to 40 Belcan employees and could grow the operation to over 300 engineers by year's end if Sikorsky is successful in winning future U.S. government and international contracts.
"It is an honor to welcome such a highly respected partnership between Belcan and Sikorsky to the Commonwealth of Kentucky," stated Governor Fletcher. "This announcement sends a strong message to the global business community that Kentucky has proven we can compete and succeed as we pursue higher quality employment opportunities for the citizens of Kentucky. We look forward to building upon the relationship we have created with Belcan and Sikorsky to help make this endeavor a successful one for all parties involved including the City of Lexington and the University of Kentucky."
Belcan has been providing engineering services to Sikorsky Aircraft for more than 3 years with an offsite Engineering and Technology Development Center since achieving UTC "Preferred" Supplier Status for Engineering services. Belcan will perform targeted engineering detailed design activities in support of projected growth in Sikorsky's domestic and international development program requirements. Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation, based in Stratford, Connecticut, is a world leader in the design, manufacture and service of advanced helicopters for commercial, industrial and military uses.
"This is a great opportunity to continue developing our relationship with Belcan Engineering Group. Belcan's expansion into Lexington, Kentucky is fully aligned with our strategy of utilizing domestic Engineering Design Centers for targeted airframe and subsystem detail design activities. The work performed at the Lexington Design Center will be complementary to the system integration, vehicle definition and dynamic systems design activities ongoing at our home office in Connecticut, and will be a key element in meeting anticipated growth in engineering requirements," said Mark F. Miller, Sikorsky's Vice President of Research and Engineering.
Belcan plans on working closely with the University of Kentucky's College of Engineering to cultivate opportunities for graduates. The College of Engineering has earned a place among the nation's best and strives to attract and retain exceptional students wishing to remain in Kentucky and prepare them to become future leaders and entrepreneurs within the Commonwealth.
"Building partnerships like this is exactly how we all move forward," said University of Kentucky President Lee Todd. "Belcan, the university and the state all benefit from this type of cooperation. It creates opportunities for our students and faculty, Belcan capitalizes on UK's talents and resources and the state's economy grows from the addition of significant jobs."
"We are very excited for Central Kentucky to have been selected for this project," said Robert L. Quick, President and CEO of Commerce Lexington, Inc. "It takes a strong sales team to land any economic development project, but one of this magnitude requires an even stronger one. We believe the collaborative efforts of the Cabinet for Economic Development, the University of Kentucky, Commerce Lexington, Inc. and the city were instrumental in this location decision."
"An internationally recognized company like Belcan Engineering Group is the kind of high tech company our city and the Commonwealth have worked extremely hard to attract," added Lexington Mayor, Teresa Isaac. "Our selection tells the nation and the world that we can meet the needs of high tech industries now and in the future. I am very excited for our city and the state of Kentucky."
Belcan, an ISO 9001 registered company founded in 1958 and headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio, offers full service engineering, product design, information technology, specialty equipment engineering, temporary staffing and multimedia services internationally from its 36 offices with over 3,000 employees throughout the world.
Sikorsky helicopters are flown by all five branches of the United States' armed forces, along with military services and commercial operators in more than 40 nations. Sikorsky is a subsidiary of United Technologies Corp. (NYSE:UTX), of Hartford, Conn., which provides a broad range of high-technology products and support services to the aerospace and building systems industries.
The Kentucky Economic Development Finance Authority (KEDFA) Board preliminarily approved Belcan for tax benefits under the Kentucky Jobs Development Act (KJDA), an incentive program aimed at increasing the number of service- and technology-related jobs in the state. A community profile for Fayette County may be found at the following link: http://www.thinkkentucky.com/edis/cmnty/cw053/Location.htm.

[krosejr]

March 16, 2005, Page D6, Lexington Herald-Leader (KY)
It's worth taking note of recent news reports that are encouraging about downtown revitalization.Belcan, an engineering design firm, announced last month that it will move into two floors of the World Trade Center Tower, instead of in a suburban office park.The design center will initially employ 40 workers who will design Sikorsky Aircraft Corp. helicopters. The company expects the staff to grow to more than 300-500 by year's end.

[krosejr]

Areas off interstates 'struggling'

By Roger Alford
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Suburban counties in Kentucky continued to grow rapidly over the past four years, while rural counties in Eastern and Western Kentucky faltered, according to population estimates released yesterday by the U.S. Census Bureau.

"The trends are continuing," said Ron Crouch, head of the Kentucky State Data Center at the University of Louisville. "We're becoming a more urbanized society, and areas along interstates are the ones that are benefiting. Areas off the interstates are the ones that are struggling."

Overall, Kentucky's population grew by 2.4 percent between 2000 and 2004 to 4,145,922, an increase of 96,929.

The largest percentage increases were in counties within commuting distance of Louisville, Lexington and Cincinnati.

Boone County added the most people -- 14,346 -- pushing its population to 101,354, and becoming the fourth Kentucky County past 100,000.

"What's happening in Boone County is amazing, because this is not just population growth," Boone County Judge-Executive Gary Moore said. "What's happening here is the creation of quality, high-paying jobs, and the people who are moving in here are coming to take those jobs."

Moore attended a ribbon-cutting ceremony Wednesday for the North American headquarters of Ticona, which is moving from New Jersey to Boone County and bringing 150 jobs.

Because of the rapid growth, Moore said, new housing developments are sprouting up almost daily as state highways become more congested and schools deal with overcrowding.

Crouch said the growth in Northern Kentucky is the result of an economy that is growing jobs in the area.

He said population declines in rural counties also are largely the result of economic factors, especially in the heavily agricultural sections of Western Kentucky, where Fulton (4.5 percent) and Crittenden (4.3 percent) suffered the biggest losses.

Among agricultural counties, Christian County had the largest numerical loss, 1,625 people.

"As farms get bigger and get more automated, you need fewer people to work on the farms," Crouch said. "That's resulted in people moving to more suburban counties."

Eastern Kentucky counties losing the largest percentage of population over the four-year period include Harlan, 3.3 percent; Leslie, 2.8; Carter, Letcher and Lewis, 2.2 percent; and Pike, 2.1.

Numerically, Pike County had the largest population loss in the eastern coal fields over the period with a decline of 1,459.

[krosejr]

By Art Jester
HERALD-LEADER STAFF WRITER
If Lexington is going to protect its green space from urban sprawl, the solution may lie in a new trend that uses an old concept.
One of the biggest influences on city and residential planning today is New Urbanism, as more than 200 people with a stake in the home-building industry were told yesterday in a seminar at Fasig-Tipton Co., 2400 Newtown Pike.
New Urbanism is a return to old-style neighborhoods, with houses of different yet compatible styles sitting side-by-side; narrow streets to slow traffic; lots of public spaces; and stores, restaurants, cafes, churches, offices and many other necessities at a neighborhood center within a five-minute walk from one's front door.
Surveys show that more and more Americans want to get away from subdivision sprawl and return to old-timey neighborhoods that are finding new life in New Urbanism.
Bluegrass Tomorrow, a regional planning group, and the Homebuilders Association of Lexington co-sponsored yesterday's event to help the area's home-building industry learn about New Urbanism's goals and methods.
Steve Austin, president and CEO of Bluegrass Tomorrow, said that when buying houses today, "Americans prefer to live in walkable communities."
In an interview, Austin said the best example of New Urbanism in Lexington is an older neighborhood -- the row of stores, restaurants and other businesses along Romany Road in Chevy Chase.
But ground has been broken on another example of New Urbanism. Patchen Wilkes, on Winchester Road between New Circle Road and Interstate 75, is owned by Warren Rosenthal and is being developed by Jimmy Nash.
Lexington City Planner Chris King said yet another example can be found in the Dominion Homes development at Tates Creek Road and Man o' War Boulevard.
Tim Busse, an architect for Whittaker Homes in St. Louis, gave a presentation on his company's New Town at St. Charles, the largest development in the St. Louis area's history. He said 400 houses were sold in the first four months after plans for New Town at St. Charles were announced, but nothing had been built.
"You're not building houses, you're building a place, a community," Busse said. "People are thirsting for this kind of civic life."
But some city planners, such as Ann Hammond of Nashville, pointed out that zoning and building codes and regulations are geared toward suburban sprawl.
They said flexibility in codes and regulations is essential for New Urbanism to take hold and flourish.

[JTS LOU]

I really like what Lexington has going on.. Many of the same things that are going on around me in Downtown Louisville..

[krosejr]

More information about the Downtown Development Plan go to:
http://www.lexingtondda.com/


Posted on Tue, May. 03, 2005
Lexington Herald-Leader

How many times have you sat at a traffic light and wondered how in the world an ugly building, a vacant lot, a maze of one-way streets or some other wildly unattractive and inconvenient thing became part of our urban landscape?

If the answer is greater than zero, you have a chance to help change the landscape, or at least answer your own questions. You can attend one of the remaining meetings to discuss a new master plan for downtown Lexington.

The city is developing its first Downtown Master Plan in almost 40 years. Under the guidance of the Lexington Downtown Development Authority, planners are studying our city's core -- the buildings, the traffic patterns, the uses and the possible uses -- to help guide us to a more vital, lived-in, desirable and cohesive downtown.

The plan in process has been presented in a series of meetings last year and this.

There will be two more meetings for public comment before the plan goes on to the Planning Commission and, ultimately, the Urban County Council.

The next is 6 p.m. May 25 in the third-floor Community Room of the Phoenix Building, 101 East Vine.

Part of the process is to listen to the questions and points raised by citizens at these meetings and incorporate them into the evolving plan.

We understand that words like, "plan," "report" and "process" strike fear in the hearts of most people. Try to put that aside and go. The meetings have been interesting and efficient, the discussion controlled and informative.

And this plan matters. This is our downtown, our chance to play a small part in making a better place to work, live, eat and play -- for ourselves and generations to come.

[krosejr]

By Jennifer Hewlett
HERALD-LEADER STAFF WRITER
The synergy of science and clinical care, the creation of 1,300 permanent jobs and closing off a "little section of Rose Street" were all part of a presentation yesterday at an Urban County Council work session.

When the presentation by University of Kentucky officials was over, council members voted to put the issue of closing off Rose Street from Huguelet Drive to South Limestone Street on Thursday night's council agenda.

Permanently changing Rose Street is a necessary part of a UK Medical Center $375 million expansion, according to the UK officials.

Council member at-large Dr. David Stevens and District 1 council member George Brown abstained from voting because they have ties to UK. Bill Cegelka, who represents District 7, was absent. The remainder of the council members voted in favor of putting the item on the docket.

Final approval could come May 19.

Meanwhile, UK officials will meet with neighbors who could be affected by the changes to the campus at 7:30 tonight in Room 127, or the Commons Room, of the Charles T. Wethington Jr. Building at UK.

"We felt very committed that we wanted to stay right on campus," UK executive vice president for health affairs Michael Karpf said of the project, which includes a "bed tower" and new 1,000-space parking garage and is the university's biggest construction project ever.

John Carr, vice president of Wilbur Smith Associates, a national engineering firm hired to work on traffic plans necessitated by the changes, said project planners didn't want to worsen traffic on Limestone; wanted to simplify the path to the medical facilities; and placed a high priority on pedestrian movement in the area in coming up with the plan for the section of Rose Street.

UK vice president of facilities management Bob Wiseman said the "little section" of Rose Street wouldn't need to be closed until early Sept. 2006.

Fifth District council member Bill Farmer Jr. said that many people would not consider that "little section" of Rose Street a little thing.

"For many people it's a life-changing thing," he said.

Luther Deaton, representing Commerce Lexington, expressed his support for the project.

"Not only does it make health care much better here ... it creates about 1,300 jobs," he said

[krosejr]

I really like what Lexington has going on.. Many of the same things that are going on around me in Downtown Louisville..

Yeah I agree with ya!! A lot is going on in KY's largest cities...it is great!.

[krosejr]

By Jennifer Hewlett
HERALD-LEADER STAFF WRITER
University of Kentucky officials want to deal with traffic issues surrounding a planned $375 million medical center expansion as quickly as possible, Dr. Michael Karpf told about 10 UK neighbors last night.

The UK executive vice president for health affairs said that if the Lexington-Fayette Urban County Council approves on May 19 a UK request to close off a portion of Rose Street as part of the expansion project, work on changes to Virginia Avenue will begin the next day.

The university wants to close Rose Street from Limestone to Huguelet Drive, and to offer drivers an alternate route to downtown by extending and widening Virginia Avenue from Limestone to Rose. UK officials have said the former won't happen until the latter does.

Karpf told the neighbors that $1.6 million would be add-ed to the cost of the expansion project for every month of delay.

UK officials invited the neighbors to last night's meeting, the second of its kind, in part because of concerns that neighbors weren't being consulted about the proposed changes to the campus.

Some neighbors, saying they had already been told by UK officials and at least three city council members that the plan was a "done deal," did not bother to attend the meeting, thinking it would do no good.

"We're tired," said community activist Lisa Johnson of Transylvania Park.

She said that when she went to the first meeting, she hadn't decided whether to be for or against the Rose Street change.

"I went with an open mind that we were going to have adult conversations about this," she said. "When he (Karpf) told us it was a closed deal, that took the wind out of all of us."

She said neighborhoods around UK have become fragile over the years because of the growth of the university. She said UK needs some of its power taken away.

"I feel like Fay Wray with King Kong."

Johnson said that if the section of Rose is closed, traffic will double in her neighborhood.

Todd Hastings, president of the Transylvania Park Neighborhood Association, said the previous meeting left neighbors frustrated.

"It was presented to us that this was 'a done deal and we're moving ahead with it full force and sorry we didn't talk to you three months ago, four months ago and six months ago, when this was all in the planning stages,'" said Hastings.

At last night's meeting, Karpf said the university would keep its neighbors better informed in the future about the expansion, the largest in UK's history, by sending out regular newsletters and holding more meetings.

He told his audience that to have the very best in health care required the very best of facilities.

The only alternative location for the expansion is Coldstream Farm, at Newtown Pike and Interstate 75, but he said that would have "huge cost issues and intellectual issues associated with it."

Neighbors who attended last night's meeting said they were concerned about traffic spilling over into their neighborhoods and about parking problems that might come with the expansion. But Karpf said several parking garages would be built.

And Tim Sorenson, senior project manager for Wilbur Smith Associates, an engineering firm hired by UK to work on plans for street changes necessitated by the expansion, said that if Rose Street were kept open after the expansion, traffic in the area would become even more gridlocked.

[krosejr]

http://www.hamburgpark.com/

Welcome to Hamburg Park Townhomes of Lexington, Kentucky. Currently under development, this professionally designed townhome community will consist of 104 units encompassing 10 acres of a park-like setting with lush landscape design and unique architectural finishes. Each townhome will be wired for the work-live-play intelligent homeowner. Situated within the Hamburg master-planned community, Hamburg Park will deliver a quality of life and an unprecedented convenience to shopping, entertainment, restaurants, and every conceivable amenity.

[krosejr]

http://www.southhillproperties.com/

South Hill Crossing is one of Lexington's most exciting new downtown developments. Located in Lexington's first historic neighborhood, South Hill, the elegant, gated townhome community is adjacent to the Univeristy of Kentucky and downtown.

The first phase, which is nearing completion, includes 19 townhomes priced from $256,000 to $645,500. Floor plans range in size from 1200 to 3500 sq ft.

Built by Padgett Construction, the homes use architectural details and buidling materials (including brick exteriors) keeping with the style of homes in the historic neighborhood.

The interiors feature 10-foot ceilings, mostly hardwood and tile flooring, custom cabinetry and custom interior trim and finishes.

The development will have gaslight-type streetlights, underground utilites, private courtyards, card-controlled access gates and street oriented porches and balconies.

South Hill Crossing is unfolding as Lexington’s most inviting and exciting new urban residential neighborhood.
Walk through historic South Hill to Lexington’s business and banking center, stroll to the neighboring
University of Kentucky campus, amble downtown for the arts, theatre, movies, and excitement at Rupp Arena,
or just cruise the popular dining establishments and city nightspots.

South Hill Crossing provides the finest living experience to those who choose a South Hill address.

Located in the historic South Hill district of downtown Lexington, Kentucky,
South Hill Crossing sits in the heart of one of the most elegant cities in the region.
Surrounded by some of the finest thoroughbred horse farms in the world, Lexington
offers a city filled with visual splendor, excellent seasonal weather, and top-notch
educational, healthcare and entertainment facilities. Downtown Lexington features a
vibrant array of shopping and nightlife options within minutes from South Hill Crossing.

“Central Kentucky is home to so many wonderful and unique attractions
and downtown Lexington serves as a keystone for the Bluegrass.
South Hill Crossing is a shining example of the exciting and creative
things that are developing as we continue to revitalize the heart of our city.”

- Former Lexington Mayor Pam Miller

“South Hill Crossing is the first mixed-use development to occur in the
downtown area and will provide the energy to enhance downtown and the
University of Kentucky area into a more exciting place to live, work and play.”

- Harold Tate, President/Executive Director, Lexington Downtown Development Authority

“The future of Lexington’s college town corridor will be largely shaped by
third party development. As much as the city and the University of Kentucky
believe in the College Town plan, we need good neighbors to bring the concept
to life. Projects like South Hill are exactly what Lexington needs.”

- University of Kentucky President Lee T. Todd, Jr.

[krosejr]

http://www.cool-spaces.com/university_lofts/

Unit Sizes: From 530 To 1258 Square Feet. Available For Rent In Fall 2004.
Price Range: Prices Available Soon*

*(Monthly rent includes all utilities and a T-1 Internet Connection with two email addresses.

University Lofts is a collection of 87 Loft style apartments, which are being created in the former Leggitt & Meyers tobacco-processing plant located at 236 Bolivar Street in Lexington, KY. This facility, listed on the National Register of Historic Places, was built in 1899.

Located next to the University of Kentucky, University Lofts offer a location that is second to none whether you are working or attending the University, working downtown or just looking for the most unique apartment in Lexington. University Lofts has it all.

Units will range in size from 530 - 1,258 square feet and have 10-17' ceilings. Each unit will have a full bath and well-appointed kitchen. The lack of interior walls will let the residents use their imagination in creating the spaces they want. There will be two on-site laundries, vending area and a recreation room.

Completion is expected by summer 2004 and rental rates will be posted in early spring. The rent will include monthly water and electric.

[krosejr]

http://www.cool-spaces.com/south_hill_station_lofts/

Unit Sizes: 525 To 1708 Square Feet
Price Range: $100,000 To $298,900


The South Hill Station Lofts are a collection of 59 Lofts style condominiums units, which is located in the popular South Hill Station entertainment complex at 222 Bolivar Street in Lexington, KY, right next door to the University of Kentucky. The building has a rich history having been associated with the once thriving burley tobacco industry. The building still bears remnants of that association with the famous "Bull Durham" brand faintly visible on its exterior walls. Each unit is has a range of unique features from exposed brick walls to wood floors. Most units have exterior windows and some have skylights. The tall ceilings add additional ambiance to the spaces and the lack of interior partitions lets each owner create the spaces they want.

Each unit will have a complete kitchen-featuring top of the line appliances including washer/dryer hook-ups. Secured access will be by card key and the building will be monitored 24 hours a day. An on-site parking space will also be included.

Date of completion: Phase III Completion Fall 2005. Contact The McGoodwin Company to reserve you unit today!

[krosejr]

http://www.cool-spaces.com/lorillard_lofts/

Unit Sizes: From 638 To 2496 Square Feet
Price Range: $76,560 To $249,600

The Lorillard Lofts project is an ambitious redevelopment of a 216,000 sq. ft. former tobacco processing plant that sits on 10 acres near downtown Lexington, Kentucky at 201 Price Road. The processing plant, which dates to the 1940's, processed millions of pounds of locally grown burley tobacco and had an around the clock workforce of over 250 people at the height of production. With the consolidation of tobacco processing into regional not local plants, this facility was decommissioned in 2001.

The McGoodwin Company has laid out 43-loft style condominium units in the first phase of development. These units will range in size from 638 - 2496 square feet. Units on the first floor will have 15.5-foot high ceilings while the second floor ceilings are 17.5 feet tall. A specially designed drywall partition separates each unit to reduce sound transmission. Each will have a lofted living/sleeping area, 1.5 - 2 full ceramic tile baths, a galley kitchen with industrial style appliances, corian countertops and a large island prep area. Large, over-sized thermal pained windows abound. And don't forget about the most beautiful maple hardwood floors you have ever seen!

A 1,050 foot long and 22' wide interior corridor called "Main Street" will run the length of the building allowing owners interior access to all amenities without going outside. We anticipate expanding our on-site amenities to include a dry cleaning drop off station, bar/deli. To learn more about the coolest place in town to live contact us very soon, they're going fast. By the way, we've arranged for a train to come by several times a day - at no additional charge. Available for occupancy, Fall/Winter 2005.

[krosejr]

4 MEMBERS OBJECT TO BONDING OF $27.5 MILLION BUILDING
By Linda B. Blackford
HERALD-LEADER STAFF WRITER
The University of Kentucky Board of Trustees approved a $27.5 million basketball practice facility yesterday, but not without some last-minute opposition from several trustees who questioned its funding.

The crux of their opposition was a last-minute addition to the state budget of $7 million in bonds for the project after private lobbying by another UK trustee, even though the facility was not on a list of UK building priorities before the General Assembly.

Four members voted against the measure, which would provide 101,000 square feet of courts, locker rooms and offices for basketball players, coaches and top administrators tacked onto the back of Memorial Coliseum. The bonds will have to be paid back by athletics, but they add to the state's overall debt load.

Faculty trustees Michael Kennedy and Roy Moore had warned other trustees they would oppose the measure on the request of the University Senate Council. The council, a 10-member committee of the University Senate, said agency bonds should have been spent on academic buildings instead.

Staff trustee Russ Williams and trustee Phillip Patton, a Glasgow judge, also said they were concerned the project was not going to be paid for entirely with private donations, as originally presented last year by athletics officials.

The funding plan presented yesterday "was not the funding formula we saw when it was brought to us the first time," Williams said. "I have a problem with $7 million in agency bonds, because I think it could be better used somewhere else on campus."

Patton said he voted for the measure when it was first introduced, but "my opposition is simply to the use of bonds," as opposed to private fund-raising only.

In fact, $15 million in bonds for the facility showed up in the state Senate version of the budget after another trustee, long-time UK sports booster Stephen Branscum, lobbied Gov. Ernie Fletcher. Instead, the budget cut bonds for a new student health facility at UK.

Branscum, a Russell Springs contractor and GOP donor, was appointed to a six-year term on the board by Fletcher last year. He and UK basketball coach Tubby Smith also are involved in a Florida real estate deal with Fletcher. He voted for the facility but did not comment.

After public criticism and lobbying by UK officials, the amount for the practice facility was reduced to $7 million, and bonds were restored for the student health facility, which trustees also approved yesterday without dissent.

Kennedy said he voted no because the athletics department had not considered a suggestion that athletics donors be asked to give to academics as well.

None of the opposing trustees would discuss Branscum's role in the matter.

Associate Athletics Director Rob Mullens said the suggestion was already under way, considering that athletics will give $1 million to academics annually for the next 10 years. A new broadcasting agreement also will send about $1.36 million for Singletary scholarships.

"We are self-sustaining, and we spend 25 percent of our budget back on campus," Mullens said.

Roughly $15 million in private money has already been committed to the basketball facility, but UK is still waiting for a large donation that would include naming rights.

Athletics officials have said the facility is necessary to keep UK as the preeminent basketball program in the country. Construction will begin this summer and is expected to be finished by October 2006.

It will provide separate courts for men's and women's basketball teams, freeing up the current space in Memorial Coliseum for gymnastics and volleyball teams, which share the space. The new facility also will house all administrative offices, including ticketing and fund-raising.

Student health facility: Also approved yesterday with much less discussion was the new student health facility, which appeared, disappeared then reappeared in the state budget to the tune of $24 million in bonds.

Student health director Greg Moore said the current 14,000-square-foot facility housed in the Kentucky Clinic was greatly overcrowded and didn't provide enough accessibility for the handicapped. Right now, student health serves about 70 percent students and 30 percent UK employees. Last year, it received about 53,000 student visits for services ranging from primary care to prevention.

The health fee for all UK students will jump from $98 per semester to $130 next fall and $160 the year after that to pay the debt service on the bonds.

The new facility -- about 62,000 square feet -- would be built as an extension to the Kentucky Clinic.

The board also approved an expansion to UK's emergency room space, which will allow for separate emergency services for children and adults.
UK basketball practice facility

UK's practice facility will contain courts for the men's and women's teams and administrative offices for the athletics department at the rear of Memorial Coliseum.

[krosejr]

ONE LIKENS FLOWERS TO 'MAKEUP ON A CORPSE'
By Andy Mead
HERALD-LEADER STAFF WRITER

Hamburg Place, a development once recognized as Kentucky's worst example of urban sprawl, received an award yesterday from Lexington's Environmental Commission, prompt-ing four commission members to resign in protest.

The award -- for "improvements in landscaping design" -- honored the placement of trees, bushes and faux rock fences that usually are seen through a windshield while driving from one store to another.

Oscar Geralds, a Lexington lawyer who had been on the commission for about 15 years, was the first to say the stretch of car-centric stores and restaurants in east Lexington didn't deserve the award. Three others joined him, and a fifth member said she was considering quitting.

"In my opinion, they are one of the worst environmental offenders, the ultimate urban sprawl," Geralds said. "Putting flowers on that is like putting makeup on a corpse."

But Jim Rebmann, a city environmental planner who nominated Hamburg, said the developer spent $3.5 million putting in landscaping, and $100,000 a year maintaining it.

"It's for the landscaping, not for the development, not for the layout," Rebmann said.

And Patrick Madden, who represents his family in developing parts of what was once a 1,900-acre horse farm, said Hamburg was planned in close coordination with city officials.

"If you don't think things should be developed, I under-stand that," he said. "But to say this is not a well-planned development isn't right."

Hamburg is wildly popular with shoppers who fill its parking lots and internal streets to spend money in an increasing number of widely spaced stores.

However, its planning -- and layout -- have frequently attracted controversy.

Five years ago, the national Sierra Club singled it out for a dishonorable mention in sprawl. It was targeted because of its huge parking lots and anti-pedestrian feel, the club said.

Geralds is a longtime member of the Cumberland chapter of the Sierra Club.

He didn't attend yesterday's awards luncheon, where a representative of Mayor Teresa Isaac presented plaques to Hamburg and four other winners.

Commission members Amy Sohner, Angela Dossett and Brenda Franey either came by after the luncheon to resign or sent word to the commission that they were resigning.

"I don't view myself as anti-development at all, but I don't think that particular project is something we would want to see emulated," Franey said later.

The commission has 20-odd members in all, chairman Marty Marchaterre said. Members are appointed by the mayor and approved by the Urban County Council.

The awards were the result of unanimous votes by a six-person subcommittee.

[krosejr]

HERALD-LEADER STAFF REPORT

University of Kentucky officials have selected the architectural and engineering firms that will design a patient care facility at the UK Medical Center.

Ellerbe Becket, a Minnesota-based architectural firm, will have primary responsibility to design the facility, which will serve more than 25,000 patients a year.

Two Cincinnati firms, GBBN Architects Inc. and A.M. Kinney Inc., were also selected and will partner with Ellerbe Becket and the engineering firms of Affiliated Engineers Inc. and Staggs and Fischer in completing the largest construction project in UK's history. GBBN also has offices in Lexington.

Together these firms have constructed major medical buildings for health care institutions including Mayo Clinic in Minnesota, Northwestern Hospital in Chicago, M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, The National Institutes of Health Clinical Research Center in Maryland and Memorial Sloan Kettering in New York.

The cost of the patient care facility will be funded through existing hospital revenues and a $250 million bond issue financed by UK HealthCare. Gov. Ernie Fletcher and the General Assembly approved the first phase of the bond issue -- $100 million -- in March.

The patient care facility is scheduled for completion in late 2009. It will sit on the site of the current hospital parking garage on South Limestone Street. A new parking garage, which hospital officials hope to begin this fall, is targeted for completion in 2006.

[krosejr]

Those who lost pushing for referendum
By Andy Mead
HERALD-LEADER STAFF WRITER

Thirty minutes was scheduled for the meeting, but it took only 10 yesterday for the Urban County Council to drive the final stake into the city's condemnation lawsuit against Kentucky American Water.

In a 9-6 vote, the council overrode a veto by Mayor Teresa Isaac of a council resolution that ended condemnation. The council also approved a settlement of the eminent domain suit filed in July 2003.

In return for dropping the suit, the water company will give the city the deed to Jacobson Park and Lake-side Golf Course in 2011, agree to spend $100,000 on other incentives, and drop two countersuits against the city.

None of that means, however, that the issue of who ultimately will own the local water system is likely to go away.

Mayor Teresa Isaac and other condemnation supporters expressed confidence that it will resurface on the November ballot and that voters will say they want the city to own the utility.

Vice Mayor Mike Scanlon and other condemnation opponents said a referendum, even if it's held in the face of certain legal challenges, is doomed to fail.

The focus of the ownership debate that has gripped the city for three years now turns to questions about the referendum.

• Will Let Us Vote Lexington, a citizens group that is circulating petitions, gather the 18,315 signatures of Lexington voters needed to put the issue on the ballot?

• If it does, are such referendums still legal in Kentucky, since the state legislature repealed the law allowing them?

• If a public vote is held, will it be in November, when it will be the only issue on the ballot, or in November 2006, on the same day that Lexington voters choose a new mayor?

The answers to those questions vary by 180 degrees depending on which side of the condemnation issue one is on.

Although the condemnation suit and countersuits were settled yesterday, these spinoff issues are likely to generate legal actions of their own this summer or fall.

Scanlon confirmed after yesterday's meeting that he had signed a petition calling for a referendum, but said he doesn't think he will be pulling any levers.

"I really don't think it will make it to the ballot," Scanlon said. "But if it does, I think it will be clear the people don't want this."

Isaac said she was "fairly confident" that the issue will be on the ballot, and that it will pass. Petition backers told the council last week that they were nearing the 18,300-signature mark. "I feel the majority want local ownership," she said.

(Isaac also said she was considering vetoing the three council resolutions that codify the settlement, although that veto would almost certainly be overridden.)

Warren Rogers, president of an anti-condemnation group called Coalition Against a Government Takeover, saidyesterday was a good day because "our three-year struggle against condemnation is over." The city started talking about acquiring Kentucky American in 2002, after the utility's parent company was bought by German utility conglomerate RWE.

Kentucky American President Nick Rowe, who was attending a business meeting in Philadelphia, said yesterday was "a good day for our employees, for our customers and for the community."

Rowe said he couldn't speculate on a possible referendum: "I just know this community has said over and over that they want this to end."

But Foster Ockerman Jr., an attorney for the pro-condemnation Bluegrass FLOW (For Local Ownership of Water), said the quest for a municipal water system will continue.

"This phase is over; the next phase is in good shape," he said.

Condemnation has taken countless hours of the council's time, but efforts by pro-condemnation council members to extend the discussion yesterday were short-circuited by Scanlon, who called for a successful vote to end the debate.

Councilman Richard Moloney, who favors condemnation, managed to get in a few questions.

He wanted to know how much of the more than $1.1 million the city has spent on condemnation would be lost if the city dropped the suit and it was later restarted.

Former city law commissioner Mary Ann Delaney, who still represents Lexington on the condemnation case, said a new court case would have to be refiled, but "much of the research wouldn't have to be duplicated."

Moloney also asked whether letters from Kentucky American officials spelling out parts of the settlement were legally binding.

Councilman Bill Cegelka, who opposes condemnation and headed the committee that oversaw drafting of the settlement documents, produced a "certificate of authentication" from Kentucky American's board of directors. The board met Monday.

The council also received letters -- but didn't discuss them during its brief meeting -- that dealt with whether the settlement would make a future condemnation effort more expensive.

The city leases Jacobson Park and Lakeside Golf Course from the water company under a lease that expires in 2018. In the settlement, the city gets the deed to the park in six years, but would have to pay "fair market value" for it if the city condemns the company.

Sheryl Snyder, a Louisville lawyer who represented the city in the case, said the shortened lease would make the property worth more if the city condemned the company.

But Guy Hughes and Kermin Fleming, Lexington lawyers who represented the settlement committee, said they saw "no substantive difference in valuation."

A motion to override Mayor Teresa Isaac's Jan. 27 veto of a resolution ending the condemnation court case against Kentucky American Water.

Yes: George Brown, Bill Cegelka, Bill Farmer Jr., Ed Lane, Jay-McChord, George Myers, Mike Scanlon, Kevin Stinnett and Jacques Wigginton.

No: Dick DeCamp, Chuck Ellinger II, Linda Gorton, Sandy Shafer, Richard Moloney and David Stevens.

Motion passes, 9-6.

[Serpent99]

Wow, I am surprised to see a Lexington development area, that is pretty cool. I just moved here not too long ago, but I have been interested in Lexington for quite a while, I used to go to this site Lexington Skyscrapers or something, but it isnt up anymore. Doesn anyone from Lexington know of a good picture site or development site. It would be great to see renderings and a culmination of all the projects, it seems to be growing like a weed here.

[Serpent99]

About Hamburg place, I really dont think that it is that serious. Yeah its sprawl, but at least it is MODERATELY contained, it doesnt bother me, it is nice to have different options on where to shop, in this day and age I could imagine how it could have been worse. Hopefully someday they will make use of the huge swaths of parking and build a little more pedestrian friendly.

[krosejr]

Wow, I am surprised to see a Lexington development area, that is pretty cool. I just moved here not too long ago, but I have been interested in Lexington for quite a while, I used to go to this site Lexington Skyscrapers or something, but it isnt up anymore. Doesn anyone from Lexington know of a good picture site or development site. It would be great to see renderings and a culmination of all the projects, it seems to be growing like a weed here.

Welcome to the forum!! :)
here is a thread on Lexington:

http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=194661

There is a lot going on in Lexington!

[krosejr]

About Hamburg place, I really dont think that it is that serious. Yeah its sprawl, but at least it is MODERATELY contained, it doesnt bother me, it is nice to have different options on where to shop, in this day and age I could imagine how it could have been worse. Hopefully someday they will make use of the huge swaths of parking and build a little more pedestrian friendly.

I agree with you....and if you think about it, there are some places in Hamburg that you can just park and walk.

[krosejr]

Comprehensive change
By Graham Pohl
CONTRIBUTING COLUMNIST
As Lexington begins reassessing the Comprehensive Plan, we should first count our blessings. The city's moderate climate, divine landscape, central location and viable urban core have tremendous potential as the foundations for a great urban center.

However, if Lexington keeps growing as it has, we will become indistinguishable from every other sub-mediocre, overblown cowtown in the nation. But if we do it right, Lexington could become one of the nation's most desirable places to live.

The culprits in our juggernaut of destructive development are:

• An outdated zoning ordinance founded on anti-urban ideas about land use, parking, street widths and traffic patterns.

• A building-control bureaucracy that is overloaded, underfunded and, by necessity, centered on enforcement rather than stewardship.

• Developers who come to their professions without an understanding of (and sometimes without a care for) how their work can benefit their community, even as it benefits their wallets.

We Lexingtonians have failed to insist on development patterns that promote strong communities. We are building housing, not communities, and the repercussions will be immeasurably destructive: inefficient, expensive infrastructure; traffic gridlock; demise of agricultural economy; and cultural atrophy.

If you want to see the way we're headed, drive down any of our major arterial roads. All of them are sullied by hideously inconsistent auto-centric development, ugly from one end to the other and virtually impassable on foot or by bicycle.

You can also see the way we're headed by visiting almost any housing tract being built here. Row upon row of insipid boxes are sprouting from soils made barren by greed. When cost per square foot takes precedence over any consideration of lifestyle or sustainability, we are given streets and houses with mind-numbing anonymity.

These developments stretch our community's infrastructure to an unnecessary extreme, segregate us economically and, because of the lifestyles they necessitate, foster a "me first" attitude that borders on nihilism.

Some developers argue that they're only providing what the market demands, but this is like saying schoolchildren should be served deep-fried foods because that is what they want for lunch. Ignorance of potential alternatives doesn't mean that buyers prefer the products most easily shoved down their throats.

Other developers are trying hard to build real communities rather than deadening suburban ghettos. But they are stymied by an antiquated and regressive zoning ordinance, a planning bureaucracy unable to pursue a vision of healthy development and entrenched enforcement officials who will resist innovation to the death.

Developers also are hamstrung by their unwillingness to admit that they need to be regulated. Their experiences with regulating authorities have been so burdensome and unproductive that they have every reason to be skeptical.

But if we fail to recognize the opportunities offered by reconstructing our planning and zoning apparatus, and if we act strictly as obstacles to the process, we will condemn our city to eternal mediocrity and miss the chance to make Lexington a national success story.

That success story would be comprised of memorable places where people enjoy walking throughout their neighborhoods, where commercial nodes are within walking distance for many and where there is a mixture of housing types, with rental units in the same neighborhoods as high-end single family homes.

The streets would be designed for walking, not just driving, and the car would be a convenience, not the center of design decisions. These would be places where we could live, work and play -- from cradle to grave.

Whether you call this vision of development smart growth, neo-traditional town planning or new urbanism, its common thread is the encouragement of patterns of development founded on respect for urban living and expanding on lessons learned from outstanding early 20th-century developments.

Lexington has planners, administrators and developers who want to see the principles of new urbanism incorporated into new projects, but they are frustrated by the status quo.

Here's an ideal path for Lexington:

• Properly fund the planning authority and make it semiautonomous to insulate it from the whims of politicians, bureaucrats and special interests.

• Simplify the plan review process so that there is a clear sequence of events with a time line; provide a developers' advocate within the bureaucracy.

• Require reviewing agencies to adopt attitudes of stewardship rather than enforcement; make it impossible for any one agency to throw a wrench into the works in the middle of a major investment.

• Adopt the principles of new urbanism and revise our zoning ordinance to encourage fine urban space, to provide form-based design guidelines and to serve the pedestrian before the automobile.

• Put flexibility in design, planning and zoning guidelines so that parts of a developer's project can vary from the stated ideal.

• Require discussions with affected neighborhoods before zone change requests.

• Ensure that community planning takes precedence over traffic planning.

• Allow for variances from parking requirements and allow inclusion of on-street parking to meet requirements.

• Identify urban nodes to be developed as new town centers within the urban services area and then zone accordingly.

• Plan and execute a serious comprehensive trail system.

And, while I'm dreaming, let's dig up Vine Street and reap the spiritual, aesthetic, and financial rewards of rejuvenating Town Branch Creek. Then ditch the one-way streets and watch commerce bloom like dogwoods in spring.

[krosejr]

CBL & Associates Properties has started a 140,000-square-foot expansion to the 1.1 million-square-foot Fayette Mall in Lexington, Ky. The expansion will include an 80,000-square-foot Dick's Sporting Goods and seven new stores. Dick's is scheduled to open by October 2005. CBL & Associates is also remodeling the existing center.

[SChristopher]

Hey thats awesome, I wish they would do soemthing about that Sears, you know the way you have to go through it to get to the rest of the center. Anwyays when this is done it'll be pretty snazzy.

[krosejr]

CITY'S $20 MILLION REQUEST DENIED ON TECHNICALITY
By Sarah Vos
HERALD-LEADER STAFF WRITER
For the third time, the Lexington Housing Authority has failed to get a $20 million federal grant to redevelop Bluegrass-Aspendale, a public housing project northeast of downtown.
Lexington's application was denied because it didn't meet requirements set by the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development.
"This is a heartbreaker for us," said Austin Simms, director of Lexington's Housing Authority.
Earlier this week, HUD announced that seven communities had won $127 million in Hope VI grants. They were Allentown, Pa.; El Paso, Texas; Green-ville, S.C.; Philadelphia; Springfield, Ohio; Tucson, Ariz.; and Tuscaloosa, Ala.
The grants, which are dedicated to improving the nation's public housing, are competitive. Each application is scored according to standards set by the federal agency.
However, Lexington's application wasn't even scored. HUD officials weren't satisfied with how an outside consulting group assessed the project's estimated costs.
According to Simms, the same certification had been submitted on two previous applications and had not raised concerns.
For help in writing the application, the Housing Authority had paid $100,000 to the Schiff Group, a consulting firm in the Washington, D.C., area. Joe Schiff, the group's president, said that this year HUD was stricter about interpreting its requirements.
According to Donna White, a HUD spokeswoman, 18 of the 33 applications for Hope VI grants were denied on technicalities.
In 2001, Lexington's application made it to the scoring process, but it didn't score high enough for a grant. That time, Lexington paid agency Quadel Consulting Corp., another Washington-based firm, $237,000 to prepare the application.
This week's rejection doesn't mean the authority has given up on razing the 389 apartments left in Bluegrass-Aspendale, the state's oldest public-housing project, and replacing them with single-family homes, townhouses and duplexes.
Another round of Hope VI grants is due at the end of June, and Lexington will reapply, Simms said. He did not know whether the authority would need additional help from consultants. He said the project will proceed even without a grant, just more slowly.

[krosejr]

FIELD WILL BE 'GATEWAY' CLEARED FOR FLIGHTS TO REAGAN NATIONAL
By Jennifer Hewlett
HERALD-LEADER STAFF WRITER
After being closed to general aviation flights because of concerns about terrorism, Ronald Reagan National Airport in Washington, D.C., is opening to flights from a select group of airports, including Lexington's.
Blue Grass Airport is one of 12 "gateway airports" nationwide that will be security hubs for general aviation aircraft seeking to fly into Reagan National. The announcement came yesterday from the office of U.S. Rep. Hal Rogers, R-Ky., who is chairman of the House of Representatives' Homeland Security Appropriations Subcommittee.
General aviation aircraft -- business jets, charter aircraft and small private planes -- have not been allowed to fly into the Washington airport since 9/11 because of concern that those flights pose a greater security risk than scheduled commercial service.
"This is a ringing endorsement for Lexington Blue Grass Airport," Rogers said in a news release. "The Department of Homeland Security clearly believes Blue Grass Airport has the right people and resources in place to provide this unique, but critical security service."
It will take about three months for the security hub system to be up and running, said airport spokesman Tom Tyra.
The Transportation Security Administration will be allowing up to 48 general aviation flights a day into the Washington airport. There are many requirements that must be met, including: advance registration and qualification of operators and crews; submission of passenger and crew manifests 24 hours in advance of flights; enhanced background checks for all passengers and fingerprint-based criminal history records checks for flight crews; and a law enforcement officer who is authorized to use force on board each flight.
"You're not typically going to be going in with your four-seat plane and flying in for the weekend," Tyra said.
"Initially you're looking at probably a couple of flights a day at each of the airports," he added.
Tyra said Blue Grass Airport's security hub status will mean "an extra task for the airport to perform," but will be a "real plus for our efforts to become a leader in aviation security in the country."
He said airport officials have done a number of security-related things on the national level that might have helped lead to the airport's selection as a security hub.
For example, he said, in 2002, Blue Grass Airport was one of five airports and the smallest airport in the country to install an in-line baggage screening system, in which baggage is screened out of passengers' sight and not in a terminal lobby.
Tyra said Mike Gobb, executive director of Blue Grass Airport, has served on a number of commissions and boards concerning aviation security.
Blue Grass Airport's security hub designation could be an enticement for businesses to locate in this area because their personnel could fly non-stop from Lexington to Reagan National in the companies' own aircraft, Tyra said.
It "really places Central Kentucky, Southern Kentucky and Eastern Kentucky at an advantage," he said.

[krosejr]

By Steve Ivey
HERALD-LEADER STAFF WRITER
Fans of Papa John's in Lexington will pay a little less for delivered pizza than their counterparts across the nation.
The pizza chain, based in Louisville, announced that its corporate-owned stores would impose a $1 delivery fee.
But several Lexington store managers weren't pleased with the decision, said Robert Reeves, general manager of the Papa John's at 265 Euclid Avenue.
"I'm sure there were several managers across the country who weren't very happy either," Reeves said. "But in Lexington we're often on the front end of a lot of market tests, so they decided to let us go ahead without the delivery charge."
Papa John's operates seven stores in Lexington.
Chris Sternberg, a Papa John's spokesman, said 440 corporate-owned stores nationwide began charging the fee Monday. About 60 percent of franchised Papa John's stores -- about 1,200 of 2,000 nationwide -- charge for delivery, he said.
The delivery fee helps cover higher costs for gasoline and labor, Sternberg said.
A few other stores nationwide did not impose the delivery charge, he said. "They elected not to put the fee in place for competitive reasons."
In Lexington, Pizza Hut charges $1 for delivery, and Donato's charges $1.50. Domino's does not charge for delivery in Lexington but does in other areas, including Louisville.
Johnny Hunt, manager of the Papa John's at 4250 Saron Drive, said he found most customers already expected to pay a fee for delivery.
"It's a matter of others doing it," he said. "Once the others started it, people got used to it."
Reeves said he thinks continuing free delivery will help Papa John's business in Lexington.
"It's my personal belief that anyone operating in the home meal industry that charges a delivery fee is at a disadvantage," he said.

[krosejr]

South Lexington landmark sold to family partnership
By Jim Jordan
HERALD-LEADER BUSINESS WRITER
As a teenager growing up on Lowry Lane, Ron Turner used to sneak into the Lansdowne Club to swim with friends who were members.
Now the Lexington businessman can walk through the front door like he owns the place -- because he does.
Turner, a real estate developer and founder of Amteck of Kentucky, bought the south Lexington landmark Wednesday in partnership with his son, Troy, the owner of Commonwealth Copy Products.
The new owners plan to spend "several million dollars" in "an extreme makeover" of the nearly half-century-old facility at 3200 Lansdowne Drive, Ron Turner said.
"It will be a 100 percent makeover like on TV" that will expand the present facility so it can comfortably accommodate 750 to 1,000 members, he said. The current membership is about 300.
Membership fees -- now $750 a year for a family -- will be raised, but the amount of the increase hasn't been determined.
Another change will be the name of the club. It will be called The Signature Club, after the Signature Beach condominiums Ron Turner is developing in Destin, Fla. He has similar condo projects in Pensacola and Panama City, Fla., and Biloxi, Miss.
But Turner might be best known locally as the owner of the house at 1008 Chinoe Road that is decorated high and low for the Christmas season with thousands of bright lights that often cause motorists to stop and stare.
The Lansdowne Club, built in 1958 by Lansdowne subdivision developers J.W. Davis Jr. and C.B. McEachin, has been used by the swim teams of various Lexington schools and was the original home of The Bash, a charity fund-raiser that attracted local officials and celebrities.
The Turners said they want to continue those types of community events at the new facility, which will have space that can be rented by non-members for receptions and other celebrations.
The clubhouse will be expanded by 3,000 square feet at the sides and back of the present two-story building to give it about 9,500 square feet.
There will be a canopy for motorists to stop under for valet parking and inside, a 20-foot-tall entrance hall. The floors will be covered in granite and custom carpet, with new restrooms throughout the building.
The first floor could have a public restaurant, as it did in the past, but that has not been determined, Ron Turner said.
The Turners said other changes will include:
• Refurbishing the swimming pool and adding such amenities as a "zero depth" entrance, water slides and sprink-lers.
• Expanding the bathhouse to include a fitness center and a spa pool.
• Adding a netted golf driv-ing range, batting cages, a walking path and picnic areas.
• Adding lighting and resurfacing tennis, basketball and volleyball courts.
• Building a second parking lot off Lansdowne Drive.
"Troy and I are going to visit some clubs over the next 30 days to get ideas so we can have one of the nicest clubs in Lexington," Ron Turner said.
The Turners bought the Lansdowne Club and its 8.8 acres primarily from Bill and Linda Varney, who led a drive in 1999 to buy the property so the club -- plagued by declining membership and aging facilities -- wouldn't be closed.
The Linda K. Varney Living Trust contributed $1,150,000 and 350 charter members of the club contributed $1,000 each to raise the $1.5 million sale price.
The Turners declined to disclose the latest sale price, and the deed was not filed yesterday with the Fayette County Clerk.
"We are absolutely thrilled that Ron Turner has bought it. That means it will stay a club," said Barbara Johnson, who has been with Davis and McEach-in's Lansdowne Co. for 38 years.
Davis and McEachin began developing Lansdowne in 1954, shortly after the two World War II veterans met at a Jaycees meeting and decided to build houses to meet the post-war demand.
The pair would develop some of Lexington's first modern subdivisions on what was largely farm land: Lansdowne, Merrick Place, Shadeland East, Park Place and Hunting Hills.
They also built the Lansdowne Shopping Center on Tates Creek Road, Bell Place in Nicholasville, Thistleton Subdivision in Frankfort and River Hills Subdivision in Chattanooga, Tenn., plus Holiday Inns in Kentucky, Indiana and Florida.
Lansdowne was the first subdivision in Lexington to have its own swim club, Johnson said. "I guess the '60s would have been its heyday,"
Big bands, led by the likes of Woody Herman, played there, and the children of member families made the club their summer home, she said.
A fire seriously damaged the clubhouse about 1979, but the pool opened every year about Memorial Day weekend and generally closed after Labor Day.
Kids from families like Ron Turner's that didn't have a membership were a constant concern.
"It was a standing thing -- how do you keep the kids from sneaking in?" Johnson said. "The biggest thing was swimming at night. They would sneak in after the pool closed and swim."
Neighbors would hear the kids' late-night parties and call the club the next day, she said.
Nevertheless, "the club's contribution to the life of Lansdowne has been incredible," Johnson added. "We are absolutely thrilled that it's going to continue."

[krosejr]

***I will take some pics this weekend of this landmark...and post so check back. :)


Approve funds and get on with saving old theater
The Lyric Theatre, once a vital part of Lexington's African-American community, has been in limbo for more than 40 years -- the last eight while city government has fought in court to take control of the property.
The Urban County Council must act now to end the uncertainty and restore life to the historic corner of East Third Street and Elm Tree Lane where the Lyric sits.
Since the court battle began, a revival has been under way in the surrounding neighborhood. A combination of public and private investment has added housing, a health clinic and businesses and upgraded streets and sidewalks along what is now called the Third Street Corridor. Sayre School has invested $20 million in its campus, and the Living Arts and Sciences Center has developed its facility.
The Downtown Development Corp. is close to finishing work on an exciting plan for redeveloping downtown, including the neighborhood around the Lyric.
But the former theater sits idle. The city has been waging a legal battle since 1997 to buy the building, winning decisions in Fayette Circuit Court and the state Court of Appeals.
To obtain the site, or at least move the legal process forward, the city must show it has the $125,080 experts have told the court the property is worth.
Mayor Teresa Isaac earmarked $250,000 to move ahead with buying the Lyric and planning for its renovation in her budget for the coming fiscal year, now under consideration by the council. The council will have many hard decisions to make as it considers Isaac's budget proposal, but this one should be easy.
The Lyric, and its neighborhood, have waited long enough.

[krosejr]

Engineering firm to get $500,000 state grant
By John Stamper
HERALD-LEADER STAFF WRITER
State officials approved spending $500,000 yesterday to sweeten a multimillion-dollar deal with Belcan Engineering that promises to bring at least 250 new jobs to downtown Lexington.
The engineering firm opened a design center in February with about 30 employees and said it has plans to hire 324 workers and invest $13.9 million in coming years. In exchange, the Kentucky Cabinet for Economic Development previously offered the company a $6.96 million credit against the future state income taxes of the business and its employees and $500,000 in cash to train its new workers.
Yesterday, the state added another $500,000 grant, which will be used to help pay for Belcan's $2.9 million investment in 45,000 square feet of office space in downtown Lexington's World Trade Center.
The company was offered the grant at the same time it was offered the previously announced tax credit and job-training money, but the application and negotiation process for the grant took longer to complete, said Mandy Lambert, spokeswoman for the Cabinet for Economic Development.
This time, Belcan promised to hire 250 full-time employees within two years and maintain that number of jobs for at least three additional years. Each employee will be paid a minimum hourly wage of $24.85. The jobs promised yesterday by Belcan are the same jobs promised for the previous incentives.
If the company fails to create or maintain the jobs, the state has the option of requiring the company to repay up to $2,000 for each job not created.
Belcan, based in Cincinnati, is owned by University of Kentucky graduate Ralph Anderson. The firm has 26 offices with more than 3,000 employees worldwide. The company's Lexington office does engineering design work for Sikorsky Aircraft Corp. and is actively seeking additional clients.
Other economic development incentives approved yesterday by the Kentucky Economic Development Finance Authority include:
• Ceradyne Inc. was granted preliminary approval for a $1.28 million tax credit if the company goes through with plans to hire 128 additional employees and invest $11.8 million in its Lexington facility, where 118 employees manufacture lightweight ceramic armor for the military. The new employees would be paid an average hourly wage of $12.88, plus benefits.
• UGN Inc. was granted preliminary approval for a $5.6 million tax credit if the company goes through with plans to hire 159 employees and invest $16 million in Somerset. The company plans to buy an existing 314,000-square-foot building on 20 acres in Somerset to manufacture acoustical and insulation products. Employees would be paid an average hourly wage of $12.19 plus benefits.

[krosejr]

Downtown Lexington Corp. makes fun its business
By Dariush Shafa
HERAlD-LEADER BUSINESS REPORTER
Music, movies, food and fun are the current game plan for making Lexington a tourist hot spot.
Rose Lucas, executive director of the Downtown Lexington Corp., thinks these are some of the key ingredients for a festive and fun-filled downtown that brings people in from all over the city, all over the state and even from across the nation.

Question: How does the Downtown Lexington Corp. draw tourists?

Answer: We present the best picture of Lexington through pictures, through meetings, through events and through marketing our downtown business and housing opportunities.

Q: How does tourism affect Lexington's economy?

A: It particularly affects the two (downtown) shopping centers, Lexington Center and the Victorian Square Shops. (Also) our specialty shops scattered through downtown, such as Third Street Stuff, Crystal on Vine, Wines on Vine, the Greentree Close and Isle of You, have become destination shopping places for tourists from out of the county and out of town and out of Kentucky.

Q: How does Lexington's downtown area compare to other similar cities in the region?

A: People who come here to visit who are in my position elsewhere think we are-absolutely superb. We offer a lot of different activities for many different age groups and interest groups.

Q: What are the Lexington Downtown Ambassadors?

A: Seven young people ... . They're street entertainers. They also distribute information for our organization and for our organization members, and they work at our events. It's the kind of team you want to have. They're ready to do anything.

Q: What's your favorite thing to cook for guests?

A: A recipe I've created-myself that is a chicken breast wrapped in bacon and grilled. My family calls it camping chicken because we created it when we were camping years ago.

[krosejr]

HERALD-LEADER STAFF REPORT
To avoid repaving Main Street during Lexington’s downtown Fourth of July Festival, state officials agreed today to change the work schedule and replace pavement on Newtown Pike first.
Lexington Public Works Commissioner Jay Whitehead said in a Lexington release that Main Street repaving, from Midland Avenue to Newtown Pike, will not begin until after the July Fourth weekend.
The state transportation cabinet initially announced yesterday that the $1.4 million road resurfacing project would begin with Main Street on Monday, prompting a quickly arranged meeting with city officials today.
Tearing up Main Street would disrupt the festival, several people said yesterday. The road is traditionally the first leg of the parade, and other events are held there as well.
According to plans, work on the project is to be done between 6 p.m. and 6 a.m. Monday through Friday and any time on weekends. Some lanes will be closed, and parking will be prohibited in some areas, but traffic will not be rerouted.
The contractor, Central Kentucky Asphalt of Lexington, has until Aug. 30 to complete the resurfacing, according its agreement with the state.
In addition to Main Street and Newtown Pike, the state also plans to resurface Tates Creek Road from Armstrong Mill Road to New Circle Road and Harrodsburg Road from Man o’ War Boulevard to Cave Hill Lane.
A project to widen Harrodsburg Road should be finished within the next two or three weeks, and a bridge replacement on Leestown Road is scheduled to be completed by July 8, but it might be finished earlier.

[krosejr]

Proposal calls for a new Home Depot
By Jim Jordan
HERALD-LEADER BUSINESS WRITER
The Home Depot on Richmond Road will be torn down and a new store built a few feet away as an anchor for Lexington Mall, under a plan awaiting action by city planners.
The proposal apparently would resolve a nine-year legal dispute between the mall's owner, a Maryland limited partnership known as Saul Subsidiary 1, and Atlanta-based Home Depot, a 1,800-store chain that says it is "the world's largest home improvement retailer."
At a hearing yesterday, the Urban County Planning Commission postponed action until July 14 so questions about the design of the new Home Depot can be resolved.
Lexington attorneys for Saul and Home Depot declined to comment on the plan yesterday, as did Home Depot spokesman Yancey Casey in Atlanta.
"Even though a plan for the new store has been filed with the planning commission, until it is actually heard in a public forum, we are unable to speculate publicly and comment publicly," Casey said.
Once the planning commission approves a development plan, the company will discuss construction details and scheduling.
Home Depot currently has a 101,990-square-foot store that backs up to New Circle Road near the southeast end of the mall. It is not attached to the mall, which is vacant except for Dillard's department store.
Saul has repeatedly declined to disclose its long-term plans for the mall.
Under the plan being reviewed by city planners, the existing Home Depot and 56,660 square feet of vacant space on the southeast end of the mall would be demolished. The vacant space once housed a Dillard's home furnishings store.
A new 102,100-square-foot Home Depot would be built as an anchor on that end of the mall. The plan also calls for a 3,000-square-foot restaurant to be added where the main entrance to the mall is now, but the restaurant's operator was not identified.
The plan was filed with the planning commission after the Kentucky Supreme Court refused in April to review a 2004 Court of Appeals decision in favor of Saul.
The decision cleared the way for the enforcement of a lower court injunction that required Home Depot to tear down its Lexington Mall store. The lower court had found that Home Depot violated a 1969 land-use agreement because it didn't connect its store to the mall.
"It's nice to see this long and bitter fight come to an end," Bill Lear, one of Saul's Lexington attorneys, said in April. "Hopefully this will pave the way for an improved Lexington Mall as we move forward."
The court battle started in January 1997, soon after Home Depot paid $4.4 million for 14.9 acres -- one of two tracts that make up the 46-acre Lexington Mall site.
The company received planning commission approval for a free-standing store and began construction even though it was warned by Saul that any store built on the smaller tract had to be attached to the mall under the 1969 agreement.
Home Depot's only victory came early in Fayette Circuit Court, but that ruling was struck down by the Court of Appeals. The case bounced back and forth among three courts until April.
Home Depot's legal problems were largely "self-inflicted," the Court of Appeals had concluded. The company had "made a deliberate business decision to proceed" with construction even though it had been warned by Saul that the plan would violate the 1969 agreement.

[krosejr]

LEXINGTON HERALD-LEADER
City should turn thumbs down on Gameday project
The proposed Gameday Center at Broadway and West High Street downtown would be a monument, at best, to contradictions.
Planned for a historic district, it would be a huge, architecturally undistinguished modern building overshadowing its 19th-century neighbors.
Proposed at a time when residential resettlement is taking off downtown, its business model is for transient, if high-end, housing.
And, although the developers had agreed to scale it back to seven stories, the application now sitting in city offices is for an 11-story building. In fact, the new plans are for a building that occupies even more space on the lot, rising like a monolith without any stepbacks to lessen the impact of its bulk.
Downtown Lexington doesn't need this bundle of contradictions. The South Hill Historic District, which includes the site of the proposed project, needs it even less. The Urban County Board of Architectural Review, which reviews all proposals for new buildings or modifications to buildings in historic districts, must turn down this plan.
The board should also reject a related proposal, currently on hold, to remove this parcel of land from the historic district. Carving it out would set a terrible precedent, signaling that developers' dreams can be worth more than the reality of our historic neighborhoods.
The concept of a Gameday condominium project is a lot like a beach timeshare. A fan buys the unit, uses it for game days or weekends and, in all likelihood, rents it to short-term occupants the rest of the time.
The developers, Gameday Centers, insist that some people will buy units to actually live in, but the majority of the 126 units proposed are so small that it seems unlikely they would serve for anything other than occasional use.
There might be a time and a place for this type of development, but not now and not in downtown Lexington.
Downtown holds the promise of again being a vital city center for the first time in at least 20 years. A nationwide shift to suburban development combined with a local craze for mega-building in the '80s created a canyon-like downtown of one-way streets lined by huge buildings with barely a human in sight.
During