Lexington, KY - A 20-year Master Plan to convert Lexington's historic Eastern State Hospital into the new campus of Bluegrass Community and Technical College has been unveiled, giving the community its first glimpse of a project many believe could be transformative for Lexington's downtown and north side neighborhoods.
Eastern State is to be relocated from its 70-acre parcel at the intersection of Newtown Pike and Loudon, where it has occupied some of the same buildings since before the Civil War, to UK's Coldstream Research Campus on Newtown near the I-75 interchange.
The BCTC project, calling for the demolition of several buildings and the renovation of several others is expected to take 20 years to complete and relies on hundreds of millions of dollars from the state legislature to succeed.
Funding of Phase One, however, scheduled for construction beginning in the first quarter of 2011, is up in the air because the General Assembly has failed to pass a budget.
While the state awaits the outcome of a special session of the legislature, called by the governor to focus on a budget, no project funding for the upcoming fiscal year which begins July 1 can be certain.
The plan to relocate and combine BCTC from it's two campuses - one on Cooper Drive, the other off of Leestown Road, into a single central location was announced in early 2009.
Plans call for the construction of between 14 and 17 new buildings over the next two decades to begin in March, 2011. Phase two would begin in 2013, with no time line or funding as yet established for the two remaining phases.
"We will request from the legislature the funding for phase II in the next session; the other phases are much less clear on when we will try. It all depends very much, as we know, on the way the economy goes, and the state budget," Dr. Augusta Julian, BCTC president, said.
Mayor Jim Newberry said the project, a component of what he has described as an "education triangle" completed by the campuses of UK and Transylvania, would make the city more marketable to business investors.
"I know beyond the impact it will have on BCTC, it will have a great impact on the city that I am fortunate enough to lead these days," Newberry said. "We're involved in situations where we're making decisions, and we hear people say don't worry about it too much, because 100 years from now nobody will know the difference."
"Today, we're talking about something that 100 years from now people will know the difference and I am confident that when they look back on the planning and thought that has gone into this process, they will say, they did a good job," he said.
Phase One calls for the construction of a four-story, 90,000-square foot, $28.9 million building, which will house computer labs, classrooms, a science lab, a film production studio, faculty and support offices, student services and admissions offices.
If funding is approved, construction on this phase is projected to conclude in Nov. 2012, with the building opening to students in Jan. 2013.
The master plan does not call for the relocation of a cemetery on Eastern State's 48-acre campus. It will remain as part of the BCTC property.
The plans to expand BCTC infrastructure began taking shape in 2005, according to Julian. She said that originally, the plan was to expand the Cooper campus into the parking lot adjacent to UK's Commonwealth Stadium. That plan was scrapped as being ineffective and not beneficial for the long-term growth of either BCTC or the University of Kentucky.
Now, as part of the plan, UK will take over the BCTC Cooper campus, once all phases are complete.
Adam Edelen, chief of staff for Governor Steve Beshear, said the 20 year plan will have major impact on Lexington, over the long-term.
"At the larger thematic level is that this action represents what happens when government gets it right. This is a wonderful example of what it looks like when we get it right, and lets all hope that it becomes a model for how we do it in the future," he said.
Transylvania University staff and students welcome BCTC as a neighbor, Transylvania University president Dr. Charles Shearer said.
"The Transylvania campus community is excited about having BCTC as our neighbor just to the west of our campus along fourth street - it's clear that a great deal of thought and planning and vision has gone into preparation for today and this campus," he said.
The number of jobs that could be created by the relocation of BCTC is undetermined at this point, Julian said.
But District One council member Andrea James, said such significant construction in an inner-city area is more than welcome.
"As a council representative of an inner city area, I will tell you how delighted I am when infill happens, there's so many other places things can occur in our city Ö it was my pleasure to hear at the same time of hearing of the Eastern State relocation, that we would have the opportunity to have BCTC's campus right there," she said.
Julian said the campus will incorporate green features, such as permeable pavers, and by not clear-cutting the lot, preserving the many stately trees which are determined to be healthy.
Phases two, three and four call for the creation of a parking areas which also would include trees.
Gov. Beshear has called on the legislature to convene in special session on May 24. If the funding from the capital outlay section of the Kentucky Community and Technical College system's budget, which operates BCTC, is not cut and passes the state legislature as part of the 2011-2012 budget, funding for Phase one will become final.
Phase two is estimated to cost more than $100 million, and Julian said BCTC intends to seek this funding from the state legislature during the next budget session in 2012.