New industry, nearly 2,000 jobs: Lexington breaks ground on 200-acre business park
Lexington officials on Wednesday broke ground on a 200-acre business park they say will bring new industry, nearly 2,000 jobs and millions of dollars annually in state and local taxes when work is complete by the end of next year.
The city’s Legacy Business Park, northwest of the Coldstream Research Campus off Georgetown Road, near Interstates 64 and 75, includes 19 lots totaling 147 acres for development, greenspaces and trails that connect bike and pedestrian paths to the city’s Legacy Trail.
The park is the culmination of nearly seven years of planning, budgeting and studying by Lexington and the University of Kentucky.
“(The) business park will bring about 1,700 jobs to our community with a combined annual payroll estimated at nearly $100 million,” Mayor Linda Gorton said at Wednesday’s groundbreaking.
“These jobs are expected to produce approximately $6.8 million in local tax revenue and $4.1 million in state tax revenue,” she said.
In July 2017, then-Mayor Jim Gray and UK President Eli Capilouto agreed to exchange 250 acres of UK-owned land for control of city streets around the school’s main campus.
Of that acreage, 200 is becoming the Legacy Business Park. The other portion is part of the Coldstream Research Campus, managed by the Lexington-Fayette County Industrial Authority.
As part of the agreement, the city splits proceeds from land sales in Coldstream with the university. The school uses the money to make infrastructure upgrades to the research campus, and the city has used its half on the ongoing improvements to the Legacy Business Park.
According to records kept by the city, it has sold just over 17 acres and has a pending sale for another 19. Land sale proceeds since October 2019 for Lexington-Fayette Urban County Government total more than $1.65 million.
“This business park helps us further fulfill our mission and our dream of a healthier, wealthier, wiser Kentucky that we can only achieve through collaborations and partnerships,” Capilouto said Wednesday. “At the University of Kentucky, we feel like infrastructure and talent are two essential ingredients for success. And because of the proximity here to Coldstream, I think we are going to have an opportunity for better alignment.”
Last April, U.S. Rep. Andy Barr helped secure a $10 million federal grant to help pay for infrastructure at the business park. In total, the development will take a $22.6 million investment of federal, state and city dollars.
“We were able to secure $10 million to help with the sewer, the roads, the sidewalks, all of the critical infrastructure that will be the basis for attracting industry,” Barr said at the groundbreaking.
In addition to the federal funds for infrastructure, $2 million in funding came from the Kentucky Product Development Initiative grant and Kentucky Utilities provided $200,000 in matching grant funds. The city dedicated $2.55 million in its American Rescue Plan Act funding and another $7.45 million in capital funds.
Lexington Chief Development Officer Kevin Atkins told the Herald-Leader before the groundbreaking that construction to develop the site will have “everything anybody needs built to the curb,” meaning lots will be site-ready, or prepped for a tenant to start building their own facility immediately.
Pieces of property in the business park are meant for light industrial use, a kind of manufacturing typically associated with processing or packaging smaller products or parts for larger goods. Lines separating lots are movable, which is an asset, Atkins said, for prospective tenants looking for more than something between 5 and 10 acres.
“You could see a headquarters out there, you can see light manufacturing. We hope you’ll see some AgTech (agriculture technology) companies locate out there,” Atkins said. “It would be a good mixture.”
Atkins said Gresham Smith is responsible for designing much of the park, and Cushman & Wakefield is marketing the lots and doing much of the real estate services. ATS is the main construction contractor at the property.
“In Lexington, industry and manufacturing jobs are still incredibly important to many people. They bring us purpose and meaning. There is nobility in turning a wrench,” said former Mayor Gray at the groundbreaking. “This is giving us that opportunity again to make those kinds of investments in people and jobs that we sometimes don’t think about as much as we perhaps should.”
Editor’s note: This story has been updated to correct the year that then-Lexington Mayor Jim Gray and UK President Eli Capilouto agreed to exchange 250 acres of UK-owned land that would eventually be home to the Legacy Business Park for control of city streets around the school’s main campus.
This story was originally published June 19, 2025 at 5:00 AM.
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