Lexington, KY - In a letter received today by Centrepointe developer Dudley Webb, George Keppler of the construction management firm Bovis Lend Lease indicates that progress is being made in the process of obtaining permits from the city and state that are required before construction can commence.
As proposed, the $282 million privately financed mixed-use development would rise 35 stories above the center of downtown Lexington, bordered by Main, Vine, Limestone and Upper Streets. Plans call for a 250-room, four-star JW Marriott hotel, 91 luxury condominiums and 21,000 square feet of retail space.
In the letter to Webb, Keppler said the state has issued the Centrepointe Project a Lane Closure Application for tracking purposes. "We have been communicating with the state of Kentucky on a weekly basis to understand where the Application is in their review process," he explained. "In our latest discussion, we were told that such review is in the Maintenance Group (Field Maintenance Dept.) and that they should be complete with their portion by the end of this week. However, KDOT is not able to provide us with a firm date as to when such review will be completed by all associated departments. We were told that the Application must go through the proper channels."
Keppler goes on to inform Webb that he also has heard from LFUCG. "I have received notification from The City - Traffic Engineering, that there are no major issues/concerns with our Proposed Plan, BUT, that they will be able to provide formal comments once they have had a chance to review the State's comments and Approval notes. It is important to note that construction of the Centrepointe Project is NOT allowed to commence until receipt of the Approved Lane Closure Permit." (Italicized by Keppler.)
Keppler noted that the Kentucky Department of Transportation (KDOT) still must weigh in with comments and once those are received, they will have to be reviewed with LFUCG Traffic Engineering. He cautions that additional delay could occur. " If KDOT comes back with any requirement for Revise and Resubmit, we could be looking at another 4-8 weeks of review process! (Please note that the purpose for having several meeting(s) with both KDOT and the City's Traffic Engineering Dept. prior to the formal Application Process was to make sure that we met both groups' requirements and thus avoid a "Revise and Resubmit" process)."
If KDOT does approve the application with no or only minor comments, notes Keppler, "We will then be able to proceed with ordering all of the necessary barriers and signage along with scheduling the appropriate subcontractor to restripe the traffic lanes surrounding the site and black-out the appropriate crosswalks all per the Approved Lane Closure Plan. Please note that the costs associated with executing activities associated with The Lane Closure Plan are in excess of $200,000 and will require about a 4 week lead time to obtain said barriers and signage."
Keppler closes by stating that Bovis is ready "to commence activities at the Centrepointe project site once we are given the approval to do so."