More than football: Projects planned for area around Lexington SC’s soccer stadium
New projects, new energy and new places to eat: Plans are charging ahead for a building boom envisioned for the land adjacent to Lexington Sporting Club’s stadium.
Coming soon to the property between Athens Boonesboro Road and the pitch on Hat Trick Way will be a Starbucks, which is on track to open in early September.
Plans submitted May 29 for a Taco Bell with a drive-thru have been approved. And during the week of Aug. 25, the city Planning Commission’s technical review committee will consider approval for a small retail strip center and a hotel.
The development arm of Lexington SC, iVisionary, is behind some of the projects around the stadium.
The $80 million soccer complex already includes the team’s stadium and seven training fields. Owners of the team, the same two families who own iVisionary, have talked for years about making the spot right off Interstate 75 an entertainment venue.
“We’re obviously excited that the city has expanded the Urban Service Boundary out to our site and including our site,” iVisionary Managing Director Joshua Lewis said.
“We really want to serve as the entertainment anchor or district for that expansion of the city and provide a lifestyle type of development. So, we’re being very careful about our choices, about what we bring in, and we’re excited that hopefully we’re going to have some more restaurants, obviously, and bars and maybe another hotel.”
Lewis said the small retail strip awaiting approval will have space for three tenants.
One of the spots will be taken by a combination Jimmy John’s and Baskin-Robbins. The sandwich and ice cream chains are both part of Inspire Brands LLC’s portfolio. The other two spots part of the retail strip proposal don’t have planned tenants yet, Lewis said.
On the righthand side of Athens Boonesboro Road, as you approach the stadium’s entrance at Doe Run Trail, Lewis said there are plans for a 108-room Fairfield Inn by Marriott.
Lewis said the firm hopes the development plan for the midsize hotel and for the small retail center will be finalized in the next 90 to 120 days so construction can start in the spring of next year.
“We also own about 18 acres on the other side of Athens Boonesboro on the north end side, and that land is also available for development,” Lewis said. “.We’re excited to develop the north side along with the other developers that have land on that side as well.”
In June, the city’s chief development officer, Kevin Atkins, said Lexington-Fayette Urban County Government “participated in the soccer stadium and the youth fields knowing that it would spur (more development).”
Lewis said the soccer stadium has long been in talks to serve as a venue for much more than just sports. But the field, which is made of real grass and optimal for professional soccer, is not easy to put things on top of.
The stadium is the host of some corporate retreats, Lewis said, and the stadium’s parking lot has been the host of the Kentucky Vintage Festival this summer.
“We’re obviously talking to a lot of folks and looking at a lot of opportunities,” Lewis said.
“We’re trying to be selective, to make sure that we get the mix right, and you know, thankfully, we have some time to do that. The city’s expanding in this direction so, we want to make sure we kind of see how that goes and the timing of that.”
.JPG)