Town Branch Park entrance moving from Main Street. It could cost millions, officials say
A proposed 10-acre park adjacent to the newly renovated Central Bank Center must move its main entrance from Main Street to High Street, park officials said Thursday.
Allison Lankford, executive director of Town Branch Park, told the board of the Lexington Center Corporation during its Thursday board meeting that switching the primary entrance to the long-awaited privately funded park will increase its cost.
“We recently met our fundraising goal of $32 million,” Lankford said.
Moving the primary entrance to High Street could increase costs, although park officials won’t know by how much until May or June when designs and cost estimates are finalized.
Lankford said they will set a new fundraising goal at that time. During Thursday’s meeting, Lankford said that it could be an additional $10 million. The original fundraising goal was set in 2016. Construction costs have escalated dramatically since 2016, she said.
One of the proposals for the new High Street entrance is to bring pedestrians under Manchester Street so they will not have to cross multiple streets — High Street, Manchester Street and a Central Bank Center access road.
It will act like a tunnel but hopefully won’t feel like one, Lankford said.
“It will be very wide and well lit,” Lankford said.
The city is applying for a federal transportation grant to make improvements on High Street to address traffic and pedestrian issues in that area, said Brandi Peacher, a project manager for the city.
Part of that grant can help pay for some of the improvements needed for a High Street entrance to the park, Lankford said.
Peacher said the city will learn in the fall if it has received the grant.
Whether it’s federal grant money or city money, the park will need additional help from the city to enhance the entrance that’ s in the public right-of-way, Lankford said.
The park is on track for a ground breaking in the fall. The proposed completion date is 2025.
The park will include play space for children, a splash pad, a dog park, an outdoor performance venue and other features.
Construction of the park can not begin until the the completion of the expansion of Central Bank Center. A dedication and grand re-opening of the expanded convention center and Rupp Arena is set for April 21.
Why is the entrance moving?
The original plans for the park included an entrance on Main Street on the former ramp of the now torn down Jefferson Street bridge. A parking dispute between the city, Main Street Baptist Church, the Lexington Center Corp. and the park meant park officials had to look at moving the main entrance to the park.
Main Street Baptist has church buildings on either side of Jefferson Street. The church and Lexington Center Corp. has had a long-standing oral agreement to allow the church to use one of its surface parking lot for services. That parking lot will soon become part of the Town Branch Park.
Negotiations between the groups is ongoing, Lankford said.
The church, which has been able to use the former Jefferson Street ramp for parking during construction of the Central Bank Center, is working on a design for that space, Lankford said.
“We don’t know what that will look like yet,” Lankford said. “We hope that there will be a pathway into the park but it won’t be the grand entrance in the initial design. We know we have to enhance that High Street entrance.”
Parking concerns raised
During Thursday’s board meeting, some members of the Lexington Center Corp. board questioned if there was enough parking in that area for events at the park and at Central Bank Center.
Lankford said park designers are looking at adding additional parking along Manchester Street.
Consultants have also looked at the parking in the area and have determined there is enough, Lankford said.
The Lexington Center Corp. is currently vetting proposals to redevelop the High Street parking lot.
A subcommittee of the board is still reviewing those proposals, according to board meeting minutes. One of the requirements for redevelopment of that parking lot is replacement of the 2,000 parking spaces on the High Street lot through parking garages.
There is also a parking garage at Central Bank Center.
Lankford said final designs for the park and the new entrance on High Street will be released sometime in late May or early June.
This story was originally published March 17, 2022 at 2:01 PM.
