BCTC vacating Cooper Drive campus as UK moves ahead with entertainment district
The construction of a fan entertainment district near Kroger Field will mean the end of Bluegrass Community and Technical College classes in the school’s original home on Cooper Drive.
Kevin Locke, UK’s associate vice president of planning, design and construction, told the Champions Blue LLC board of governors Tuesday the school is moving forward with the “Cooper Connector” plan for the proposed entertainment district. Of the four renderings presented to the UK Board of Trustees in February, the Cooper Connector plan was the only one that involved construction at the current BCTC site.
A BCTC spokesperson confirmed to the Herald-Leader later Tuesday that the school’s plan is to vacate the Cooper Drive campus by the end of 2026.
The Oswald Building on Cooper Drive opened to house what was then known as the Lexington Technical Institute in 1976. A second building on the campus, the Moloney Building, opened in 1988, after the school’s name had changed to Lexington Community College.
UK held jurisdiction over LCC until 2004 when the Board of Trustees voted to let it join the rest of the state’s community college system. LCC merged with Central Kentucky Technical College to form BCTC in 2005.
As part of a land swap deal among UK, BCTC and the city of Lexington made in 2008, BCTC built a new campus at the former site of Eastern State Hospital on Newtown Pike, Eastern State moved to land previously owned by UK on the Coldstream Research campus and UK took control of the Cooper Drive property. Even after BCTC opened the Newton Pike Campus in 2013, the school continued to offer classes at the original Cooper Drive campus, but the plan at the time was for UK to eventually use the property for campus expansion.
BCTC also has campuses on Leestown Road in Lexington and in Danville, Georgetown, Lawrenceburg and Winchester.
The “Cooper Connector” plan for UK’s fan entertainment district would include retail, dining and a hotel conference center. While construction plans will not be finalized until this summer, the initial rendering included new construction on both sides of Cooper Drive between University Drive and Sports Center Drive.
A green space would also be added in the current parking lot between BCTC and the stadium.
“This location needs genuine energy, with multiple retail spots creating critical mass, rather than an isolated, one-off destination,” Locke told the Champions Blue board. “And with the right mix of food, entertainment and access, this corridor will come alive and attract private investors, as well as become an asset for the university staff and the surrounding community.”
The exact location of the hotel conference center is still being finalized, Locke said. A final decision has also not been made on whether a multi-use facility that would include a new basketball practice facility will be constructed as part of the Kroger Field entertainment district or as part of a district to be built near Memorial Coliseum.
The Memorial Coliseum district will likely include a mix of retail, student housing and structured parking.