"
Planned spa at Kimball House Square scaled back
Plans for a large spa and salon at the Kimball House Square development on Limestone and Upper streets have been significantly downsized. The La Bella Salon, Spa & Self Image Center as planned would have occupied all five of the 1st floor units along Limestone Street and would have employed 70. Owner Leslie Foster said significant delays in Kimball House Square project caused her to move on to other business ventures.
"The building was actually supposed to be closed on last year around August or September," Foster said. "The project opened about a year later than anticipated and in that time the President of Redken came to me and asked me if I would be interested in opening up Redken cosmetology schools. I decided to open five."
Historic Preservation issues delayed the project. In addition to the project's delays, Foster was concerned about parking issues.
"That particular space was a challenge for a spa because there's not a lot of parking when you have 70 or more employees and you have to park your employees and park your guests," Foster said.
Foster still plans to open a high end salon at Kimball House Square which will employ 36 and take up only one out of the planned five units. Foster is offering the other four units for sale or lease.
"We're just focusing on the hair end which will follow in sync with my cosmetology schools," Foster said. "It's a very big business change, a lot of it came from Redken approaching me and a lot came from the project's delays."
Foster said The La Bella Salon is set to open November 1.
Job cuts at Chase
Citing efficiencies and people-replacing technologies, J.P.Morgan Bank is eliminating 80 jobs at its loan-processing center in Lexington. The center employs 530 to process loans for Chase branches across the nation. Employees affected by the layoffs have received severance packages based on their years with the bank. They have been encouraged to apply for open positions elsewhere in the company. Those who chose not to remain have been offered job- search assistance.
Chase officials said they expect to complete the layoffs by the end of the year.
Lexington gets major funding to build trails
$4.4 million in federal Transportation Enhancement and Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality grants was awarded to Lexington through the state to "green" the area and enhance the quality of life for residences, among top priorities of Mayor Jim Newberry.
The efforts of local officials and activists advocating for a trail system linking the Kentucky Horse Park in Northern Fayette County with the Kentucky River in Jessamine paid off with word that almost $3 million will be dedicated to the construction and beautification of the HealthWay Trails system, championed by 9th district councilman Jay McChord. Marnie Holoubek took the initiative to form a Healthways Task Force to organize and advance the idea. Steve Austin of Blue Grass Tomorrow developed the concept with seed funds provided by the Lexington Convention and Visitors Bureau and Kentucky American Water.
The Horse Park and UK's Coldstream Research Campus will be linked by the Maine Chance Trail —part of the north-south Healthways System-- as $2 million will be spent to construct the four mile trail. A 1.4-mile stretch will become part of a $700,000 beautification project. The 1.05 mile phase three of the east-west Town Branch Trail - the vision of Lexington architect Van Meter Pettit - originating from McConnell Springs Park and linking cultural landmarks throughout the city, will be built with $208,000 in funding.
Through the efforts of 8th district councilman George Myers, the Gainesway Trail project, consisting of two miles of trails along Armstrong Mill Road, will be built with $446,400 in funding to connect four schools, a park and community center in southeast Lexington.
In addition to the trails, $650,000 will be used for a Newtown Pike Enhancement project that will include planting nearly 1000 trees in the corridor right of way and the construction or repair of 1,100 feet of wooden plank and dry stone fences.
Other funds were allocated to the county for fiber optic cable installation to be used for traffic signals on Man O' War, Nicholasville Road and Alumni Drive. Lexington also received $88,000 to buy a tank for the county's biodiesel program.
Forum on WEG Opportunities for small businesses
The Kentucky Small Business Development Center is sponsoring a forum for business owners to gather information about the 2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games and future events held at the Kentucky Horse Park.
Participants will hear from professionals in the horse industry about potential products and services expected by game attendees and participants.
The forum will be held from 8 to 10 a.m. Aug. 30, in the South Theater of the Kentucky Horse Park. The cost is $25.00, which includes light refreshments. Advance registration is required by visiting kysbdc.ecenterdirect.com/ConfSignup.asp?id=5033 or calling (859) 257-7666.
KY businesses invited to join trade mission to Japan
Former Governor Martha Layne Collins, Chair and CEO of the Kentucky World Trade Center will lead a KWTC Leadership Trade Mission trip to Japan this fall. The itinerary of multi-city visits and meetings with high-ranking officials offers opportunities to establish contacts and become more familiar with the Japanese economy, educational system, and productive business models.
Trip dates are September 29-October 7, 2007. The fee for this Trade Mission is $5,200 (subject to change), and includes airfare, lodging, and most other expenses in Japan.
Information is available online at www.kwtc.org or contact Ying Juan Rogers at yingjuan@kwtc.org or (859) 258-3139.
Lexington Forum to discuss domestic partner benefits
A panel discussion on the hot topic of domestic partner benefits will be the focus of the Lexington Forum's regular monthly breakfast meeting at the Lafayette Club, 7:30am on Sept. 6.
Panelists include UK Political Science Professor Ernie Yanarella; KY State Senator Ernesto Scorsone and Martin Cothran representing the Family Foundation of Kentucky. State Rep. Stan Lee, an opponent of the benefits, declined an invitation due to a scheduling conflict.
Guests are welcome for a $10 fee, which includes breakfast.
Yellow Bikes program gets "wrangler"
Christopher Rowe will draw on his experiences as a onetime employee of a local forklift dealer to inform the way he goes about managing downtown Lexington's privately funded Yellow Bike program. The UK student recently signed-on with the Downtown Lexington Corporation to keep watch over the program - rounding up bikes taken out of the downtown area and spotting two-wheelers in need of maintenance or repairs.
"I'm collecting data on where these bikes actually are winding up," Rowe explained. "If we see that a whole lot of people in a particular neighborhood are using them, maybe in the future we can take that information to other community stakeholders and encourage them to support the Yellow Bikes or launch their own program. Or it may make sense for us to expand our area."
Rowe has assembled a kit of basic bike maintenance tools for on-the-spot work. Anything big goes to the shop at program sponsor Pedal Power. "What I'm trying to do is to make sure there's a visible presence — clearly a fleet of Yellow Bikes in downtown Lexington. So, I'm literally wrangling; going out and finding bikes that have wandered off the reservation," he said. "Going forward, I hope to spend most of my time riding on one of my bikes throughout downtown, airing-up tires, making sure chains are lubed and locks are in good shape." He also collects serial numbers and tracks where the bikes are found. "I used to work for the Toyota forklift dealer in town (Pro Lift) and they had an excellent system in place for tracking and maintaining forklifts. So I've been able to adopt some of the stuff that I learned there."
Rowe applauds Mayor Jim Newberry's campaign to make Lexington the most bike-friendly city in the Commonwealth. "We have to figure out how to do that ourselves. Nobody's going to tell us how."
Art meets bus shelter on Versailles Road
LexArts and Art in Motion, a nonprofit group formed to raise funds for building artistic bus shelters around Lexington, announced a public exhibit of the entries for the partnership's first Art Shelter design contest. Design entries were received from around the country for an art shelter to be located on Versailles Road. A jury of Lexington artists and designers, charged with judging the designs, has narrowed the field to five entries that will progress to the next stage of the competition. Ultimately, three finalists will be chosen and each will receive a cash prize, the first place winner receiving the commission for the Versailles Road Art Shelter. A LexArts exhibit, scheduled to begin September 1 at the Downtown Arts Center and coinciding with the September Gallery Hop, will highlight the creative, wide-ranging scope of designs received in response to the Art in Motion contest announcement.
Blue Equity acquires G7 Sports Marketing
Blue Equity, LLC acquired Game Seven Sports Marketing, a Kentucky-based limited liability company specializing in collegiate sports properties. Game Seven's business model is based on coach representation and event management. With the G7 acquisition Blue Equity gains a presence within the collegiate sports community while expanding its platform of events. G7, with offices in Lexington and Louisville, will continue to be managed by the firm's co-founders: president Brooks Downing and senior vice president Jason Charney.