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Rendering provided by SCAPE
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Rendering provided by SCAPE
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Rendering provided by SCAPE
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Rendering provided by SCAPE
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Town Branch Commons — the 3.2-mile, $40 million linear park surging toward construction phase — is too ambitious a project to have a singular purpose. It seeks to be many things at once: parkway, pathway, bikeway, greenway and general upgrade to the downtown core.
But beyond that, as Mayor Jim Gray noted recently when new renderings of the project were released, Town Branch Commons is a $40 million investment that, with care and good fortune, promises to be a catalyst for commercial activity along it’s path.
“Town Branch will be a link between our beautiful countryside and our urban core,” Gray said in a statement, “a strip of history that will be a path to private investment and economic development.”
The $40 million earmarked for the project is a combination of federal, state, city and private funding. The city reports its share of the project at $11.9 million.
The project incorporates several ideas that have come to the forefront in urban planning, including the restoration of historic waterways (limited in this case), the addition of pedestrian and cycling opportunities, and the creative use of green space. Successful examples include The Riverwalk in San Antonio, Texas; and elevated linear parks such as the High Line in New York City’s Chelsea neighborhood and The 606, which opened in 2015 on Chicago’s northwest side.
New renderings for Lexington’s Town Branch Commons — designed by New York-based SCAPE Landscape Architecture, which won an international design competition in 2012 — show an ambitious use of green space and protected pathways through the heart of downtown.
The new images offer a window into the project, which is slated to begin major construction phase next year and be largely complete by 2020.
In addition to the multi-use trail, two new parks are included in the plans, one along Vine Street and another on Cox Street.
Once complete, the Commons link will connect the Legacy Trail and the Town Branch Trail, creating 22 miles of continuous pathway for walking, running and cycling. The Commons portion also will include water-based “features” aimed at children.
“Town Branch Commons has the potential to be a centerpiece of our community for decades to come,” Gray said.