Future of proposed Distillery District at pivotal moment
Supporters of a developer's plan for a $190 million transformation of one of Fayette County's most blighted corridors into an arts and entertainment-oriented Lexington Distillery District are watching closely for a pivotal decision by the Urban County Council.
The deliberations come at a time when the Lexington-Fayette Urban County Government is, like many cities across the nation, being forced by a wilted economy to consider deep cuts in its $114 million portfolio of bonded capital projects, including the Lyric Theater renovation and downtown streetscape improvements.
Barry McNees, leader of the development team proposing a Lexington Distillery District on Manchester Street, has informed council members that a bourbon distiller has expressed serious interest in making a multi-million dollar investment to locate in a National Historic Registry building that once warehoused the products of the Pepper Distillery, at one time the world's largest bourbon producer.
McNees said, as a condition of an agreement to locate a boutique distillery, restaurant and visitors' center in the structure, the undisclosed distiller has stipulated that the streetscape must be improved to make the corridor more attractive to retail commerce.
The Distillery District concept recently was approved for the state's first tax increment financing (TIF) package geared specifically for the improvement of a blighted zone.
The Kentucky Economic Development Finance Authority pledged up to $45.8 million in state reimbursement to support economic development in the largely neglected corridor.
A TIF establishes a baseline on taxes generated by economic activity in a designated area and redirects any additional local or state tax dollars credited to the new development to the improvement of such public infrastructure as sidewalks, street lighting, landscaping and sewers.
McNees is appealing to the city to bond a $3.2 million investment in the project.
"The $3.2 million is a critical down payment with monumental leverage," he said, noting that the city's investment would trigger the distiller's initial $10 million investment, driving capital investment in the project past the $20 million threshold required to trigger the TIF.
A decision by council's budget and finance committee could come as early as December 3.
Looming in the background is a warning that with its revenue stream in decline, Lexington is in danger of falling behind in servicing bonded indebtedness, risking the city's Aa2 bond rating. In fact, budget and finance committee chair Kevin Stinnett acknowledged that the bond market's interest in Lexington has waned, with only two firms indicating willingness to purchase LFUCG bonds. The city typically hears from as many as eight.
Even as they struggle, however, with difficult and challenging budget decisions in the face of an estimated $12-$13 million revenue shortfall, council members seem cautiously receptive of the Distillery District idea.
Some have stated that they view the project as an important driver of local and regional economic development. Others are intrigued by the potentials of historic preservation and city branding. Advocates of infill and redevelopment and sustainability believe it addresses their issues.
The question now before council is whether in these times, the proposed Lexington Distillery District is worthy of a somewhat calculated risk.
Stinnett indicated that an early decision to bond the project will depend on how soon the developer can assure the city that work will commence and whether the various city departments that would be involved are in a position to take on another project of such magnitude. Stinnett added that in the event of a delayed decision, the proposal can be revisited at any time. - Tom Martin
Distillers want change in state's sampling law
Kentucky bourbon distillers are lobbying state legislators to update laws governing whiskey sampling and marketing. Distillers are now prohibited from offering off-premise samplings. State Representative Susan Westrom, D-Lexington, plans to propose allowing distillers to hold samplings of their products at locations licensed to serve liquor. There would be a limit of three half-ounce servings per sampler, per day.
Construction employers cautious on economy in 2010
Employment in the construction industry has fallen dramatically both in the United States and in Kentucky.
Earlier this year, The Associated Builders and Contractors of Kentuckiana conducted an informal survey of its contractors, subcontractors and construction support businesses to get their views on activity in their sector.
About half said that economic conditions were moderately or substantially worse in August than they were six months earlier.
Only four in 10 of the construction executives thought the economy would improve in 2010. The construction people say that the industry will remain in a holding pattern until consumer and business confidence improves and business investment begins flowing more freely.
UK to lead $6 million study of medicinal plants
The University of Kentucky is the lead institute in a group of universities that received a $6 million grant from the National Institutes of Health as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to study the molecular genetics and biochemical potential of medicinal plants.
During the two-year project, researchers will look at the chemical composition of 14 medicinal plants, including native ginseng and foxglove. Researchers will study the plants' genetic materials to determine key components that may be important in the treatment of human diseases. Researchers will also study how to improve the existing compounds to increase their efficacy.
Joseph Chappell, a professor of plant biochemistry in the UK College of Agriculture, is the project coordinator, leading a team of researchers from Michigan State University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Iowa State University, University of Mississippi, Purdue University and Texas A & M University.
Forum offers key info for small businesses and entrepreneurs
Small business owners and entrepreneurs looking for information on financing, marketing and other growth tools and services will soon want to beat a path to the Embassy Suites. The Small Business & Entrepreneurial Connections Forum series will make its final stop at the Newtown Pike hotel on December 1. The Forum - a partnership between the Kentucky Cabinet for Economic Development, the Bluegrass Area Development District and the Kentucky Small Business Development Center - is free, open to the public and starts at 8:30 a.m. And at this event, there is such a thing as a free lunch.
Gatton to host Sustainable Marketing conference
UK's Gatton College of Business and Economics will host a Sustainability in Marketing colloquium on December 4. Organizers say the program focuses on the "triple bottom line" with respect to a company's performance and the pursuit of economic, social and environmental returns.
Registration and a continental breakfast begin at 8:30 a.m. in the Lexmark Room of the UK Main Building. Opening remarks will begin at 9 a.m.
EKU names director of new performing arts center
When Eastern Kentucky University cuts the ribbon on its brand-new Center for the Performing Arts, Katherine Eckstrand will be in charge of what goes on inside. Eckstrand has been recruited from the Ohio Arts Council for the role of executive director of EKU's new venue.
In her role with the Ohio Arts Council, where she has served since 2005 as director of community development, Eckstrand managed four grant programs, directed staff and constituent professional development, worked with organizations to revitalize their communities through the arts, and oversaw the agency's accessibility and diversity programs. She also administered the Appalachian Arts Program, which involved working with the founder of the national Quilt Barn Trails, and the Ohio River Border Initiative, a partnership with the West Virginia Commission on the Arts.
Eckstrand's experience also includes 19 years in higher education. From 1986 to 1994, she served as arts director and director of cultural programs at Shepherd University in Shepherdstown, W.Va. Then, for the next 11 years, she was executive director of the Performing Arts Center at Clark State Community College in Springfield, Ohio.
Now under construction, the 93,000-square-foot facility is scheduled for completion in 2011. It will bring to central Kentucky a third "Broadway-capable" venue, competing with the Lexington Opera House and Centre College's Norton Center. The EKU Center will house a 2,000-seat, double-balcony proscenium theater featuring a fly system used by technical crews to quickly move set pieces, lights and microphones on and off stage by "flying" them in from a large, overhead opening known as a flyloft. Both the Lexington Opera House and the Norton Center also feature the systems.
The Center, located adjacent to the university's new Business and Technology Center, will include a configurable "black-box" theater with seating for up to 250. The building will feature a lobby large enough to hold events in conjunction with a show in the main theater or as stand-alone events, said EKU spokesman Marc Whitt.
"The design of the facility lends itself to flexibility - the entire facility can be used for one event, or each area could actually host an event occurring at the same time," he said.
The $30 million performance center is a considerable point of pride to EKU officials - the finest such facility in the state, according to President Doug Whitlock, "and one of the finest in the multi-state region."
The funding strategy for the facility was unique because it joined state, county and university resources. A 13-member Board of Directors consisting of representatives of EKU, the City of Richmond, City of Berea and Madison County, was established to oversee design and construction.