The Webb Companies are proposing a $250 million, mixed-use infill development on Main Street’s old Woolworth Block. The proposal will create 920 jobs, and include luxury condos, a four star hotel, office space, and retail units. It will be forty stories tall- four or five feet shorter than the Big Blue Building. The LEED certified structure will be the newest addition to Lexington’s signature skyline.
To achieve the project’s full potential, the Alliance urges the Webb Companies to address the community’s concerns with the development’s scale and orientation, available infrastructure, the displacement of established businesses on the block, and the protection of the historic structures on the site in the final development plan.
View The Fayette Alliance’s position statement.
*UPDATE
Since CentrePointe’s public introduction in March 2008, the Alliance has conditionally supported the project-in furtherance of much needed investment and redevelopment in the downtown area and as a core strategy in preserving Fayette County’s renowned rural landscape. These conditions are grounded in the legal requirements and recommendations of the Downtown Masterplan and the EPA consent decree.
However, recent LFUCG Council proceedings and meetings with members of Lexington’s infill development community and local political leadership indicate that the developers of CentrePointe continue to proceed through the TIF financing and local ordinance processes without meaningfully addressing these conditions.
No doubt the Fayette Alliance is in favor of infill redevelopment on the Woolworth Block , but it must be done in accordance with the Downtown Masterplan and the EPA Consent Decree. In addition, there should be a transparent government process by which the community can meaningfully participate in the development’s design.
As such, the Fayette Alliance is withdrawing its support of the CentrePointe project at this time. It is our hope that we can work together to address the design, scale, infrastructure, and other issues associated with this landmark project. To do otherwise, hangs the promise of CentrePointe and Lexington-Fayette County in the balance.
