Lexington council narrows city hall location to two sites. Mayor tells them to pick.
After years of back and forth, the Lexington council remains divided on where city hall should be located, though momentum appears to be growing for a renovation and expansion of its current location on Main Street.
“There appears to be more support for re-doing this building,” said Vice Mayor Steve Kay.
Some, though, back a different option — building in Phoenix Park, in front of the Lexington Public Library and the Park Plaza Apartments.
Mayor Linda Gorton told the council Thursday to make up their mind. The city will not move forward on a new city government building until the 15-member Lexington-Fayette Urban County Council chooses one location, she said. And there will not be any money for a new city government center in the budget for the fiscal year that begins July 1, Gorton said.
“I need one location,” Gorton said during a special council meeting to discuss potential locations for a new city government center.
The council has been working for more than nine months to narrow down a potential site for a new government center in addition to examining financing options and space concerns.
A new city government center has been on the city’s to-do list for decades. The city came close in 2018 when it selected CRM Companies of Lexington to renovate and retrofit the Lexington Herald-Leader building on Midland Avenue, but the council backed out of the private-public partnership at the last minute.
Where a new city government center should be located has long been a sticking point.
During Thursday’s meeting, the council ruled out building on top of or demolishing one of the Lexington Transit Center parking garages on Vine and High streets. It also eliminated another location at the corner of Maxwell and High streets, at the back of a parking lot for Rupp Arena and the Lexington Convention Center.
Although some expressed support for a site between Third and Second streets along Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, many did not, saying it was too far away from Main Street.
That left the city’s current location on the corner of Main Street and Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and the Phoenix Park location.
Chris Litton, of facilities project management, and others in the city’s facilities department analyzed the various locations and looked at costs. Those costs were just estimates, Litton cautioned.
Gutting, renovating and expanding the current location, the circa 1920 Lafayette Hotel building, would likely cost $78.6 million. That price includes $2.2 million to temporarily relocate the 353 employees that work in the building on Main Street.
Constructing a new building on the current Phoenix Park, which would take up most of the park, would cost $73.3 million. Another option is to demolish the city-owned Phoenix building and construct a new building on a portion of Phoenix Park and the current site of the Phoenix building. That option would cost $114 million. The building would be built over Water Street on South Limestone.
City facilities staff raised objections to both of the Phoenix Park options, saying the building wouldn’t fit well and would create problems for businesses on the block. The height of the building would likely be limited to six floors so it would not restrict the views of Park Plaza apartments. The bottom floors of Park Plaza are a parking garage used by apartment owners and library patrons.
Jamshid Baradaran, director of facilities and fleet management, said the Phoenix Park location was the worst of the potential sites.
The back of the proposed new building would face Park Plaza’s parking garage, which is not aesthetically pleasing for employees. It would be too large of a building in a very small space, he said. There would be no place for loading or unloading.
In addition, the Phoenix building is in good shape and has a recently replaced roof, Baradaran said.
“Why would you want to take down a fully functional building?” Baradaran said.
The city also would have a hard time selling the Lafayette Hotel building. “You are going to have to give it away at a loss,” Baradaran said.
Still, some council members pushed the Phoenix Park site, saying there may be ways to fit the building on the site without having to tear down the current building. The Phoenix building could be connected to the new building, some said.
Councilman Preston Worley and Councilwoman Amanda Bledsoe said a private developer may be able to work with the site. Worley urged the council not to rule Phoenix Park out.
“I”m not deterred,” Worley said of Baradaran’s warnings. “There are opportunities to look outside the box.”
Kay and others said gutting the city’s current building, expanding it and adding a parking garage may make the most sense.
Councilman Fred Brown was the only council member who actively opposed renovating the current building. Brown said he would rather a private developer build a new government center and lease it to the city, eliminating the need to borrow money for the project.
Chief Administrative Officer Sally Hamilton said the city would likely have to bond or borrow to renovate the current building. It would be legally tricky to give a developer the city’s current building on Main Street to renovate.
Worley asked if the city could issue a request for proposals or hire a consultant to look at both sites. Hamilton said preparing a request for proposals is time consuming. Plus, the city has issued requests before and did not move forward. The city needs to make sure it is serious before going to the private market, she said.
Hiring a consultant to look at both sites could run upwards of $250,000, Baradaran said.
Gorton told the council there was no money to hire a consultant. That’s why they needed to choose a single site, she said.
Kay said the council will discuss the two sites further before returning to Gorton. He said the council hopes to reach a consensus soon.
Gorton said Thursday she had a preferred location but did not want to influence the council by stating her preference.
This story was originally published February 21, 2020 at 10:31 AM.
