Lexington, KY - The center of Lexington would have a dramatically altered appearance under a plan recommended Tuesday morning by the Rupp Arena Arts and Entertainment District Task Force. The plan, which proposes to "Free Rupp" by 2018, would make the arena the center of a new district and unshackle it from the Lexington Convention Center, which would be relocated behind the arena into the Cox Street Parking lot along with a "Town Branch Commons" park.
The project's master planner, Gary Bates of Oslo-based Space Design Group and a former UK visiting professional, said the redesign capitalizes on making more out of a project that needs to be done by the time the University of Kentucky's lease to play men's basketball at Rupp expires in 2018.
Business Lexington
"It's a mix of necessity and desire," Bates told late Monday. "The necessity is simply the prerogative of delivering a better facility for Rupp and ultimately that necessity creates a situation where we'll look at the convention center and Rupp Arena again."
Renderings of a proposed redesigned exterior of the 35-year-old arena released over recent weeks have shown portions of the building currently obscured by and connected to the convention center as free standing, and connected through open space to areas that would eventually include street level retail along Main and High Streets.
"The first milestone is 2018, by that time there'll be a lot of difference," Bates said. "The first part of this central park will be there. The convention center will be there. Rupp Arena will be up and running and potentially the multipurpose hall, which I think everyone agrees - the hotels agree, Rupp agrees - is an interesting new component in the master plan that gives another venue spin off possibilities for a hotel to use, spin off possibilities for Rupp Arena to use, spin off possibilities for pre and post-game events."
The plan, as recommended by the 47 member task force Tuesday morning, would contain these components within the area currently containing the arena, convention center and the Cox Street parking lot bordered by Broadway on the east, Oliver Lewis Way on the west and High and Main Streets to the south and north respectively.
"There's enough intelligence in the strategy to know that there're some areas you want to protect for the future. The High Street lot for example, you don't want to just open everything up and make it a free-for-all because you're going to be stuck if you have just a building standing in the middle of the High Street lot," Bates said.

Bates, along with project manager Stan Harvey said this initial stage, utilizing public funds, would act as a catalyst for private investment to occur in the surrounding areas, including the Distillery District.
"The whole process is predicated on bringing in new investments but also getting more out of the investments you already have," Bates said.
The task force's chairman, attorney Brent Rice, said case studies the group visited in Indianapolis - home of this week's Super Bowl - and Columbus, which was awarded the 2013 NHL All-Star Game this weekend, shows the marriage of public and private investment can create a vibrant district anchored by an arena.
"There are revenue streams that we've identified that we believe can make this become reality," Rice said. "One of the things we have seen from those case studies is the private dollars that come in to these types of projects is just amazing. We think it can be accomplished, it's going to take a very in-depth business model to be created and looked at very closely."
A third case study considered by the group during its 10 months of work was how an aging arena can be reborn without disrupting its current tenant. A trip to Madison Square Garden, home of the NBA's Knicks and NHL's Rangers showed how a three year project could bring the storied arena to state-of-the- art level without forcing a relocation of regularly scheduled games.
Early in the process, Rice said, UK emphasized that "they would not entertain playing any games at another venue."
In December, UK President Eli Capilouto said the university, facing its own infrastructure needs, would not support state funding for the renovation of Rupp Arena.
In a statement released following today's task force report, Capilouto said: "Our position has not changed. Our steadfast focus has been - and will continue to be - the revitalization of our campus core. We have concerns about anything that competes for state dollars with that focus. Revitalizing our campus represents the best way we can honor the Kentucky Promise of ensuring the best possible undergraduate education for the Commonwealth's students and future leaders as well as the kind of research that addresses the state's challenges. As a result, everyone needs to clearly understand the specifics of what the proposed Rupp Arena, Arts and Entertainment District will cost and who would ultimately pay for it."
The plan announced Tuesday proposed 9 specific projects, explanations of each are included directly quoting the task force report:
FREE RUPP
 - The center of the expanded Downtown will be Rupp Arena. The renovation will maintain the historic character while maintaining the gold standard that is expected of Rupp Arena, both architecturally and symbolically.
New Convention Strategy - 
A new convention center is proposed on the Cox Street parking lot. The new building campus that is proposed will expand the facilities as well as create a unique convention experience.
High Street Transformation - The High Street parking lot is seen as potential future development that will evolve based on market needs, it has an inherent flexibility to serve many purposes.
Re-envision Retail
 - The retail formerly within the Lexington Center will be re-positioned along Main Street and along the Town Branch Commons Park and Catwalk.
CatWalk
 - The CatWalk will include a mix of programs, atmospheres and pre- and post-game opportunities and better connect UK to Downtown. It consists of the street connections between Avenue of Champions and Rupp Arena.
"Town Branch Commons" - 
The Commons is the idea of a unified thread of public space that runs throughout the district from the Distillery District all the way to East End. The Commons may take on different forms, but will generally follow the Historic Town Branch Creek.
Distillery District Development - Looking forward to future development opportunities, the Distillery District offers a plethora of interesting opportunities within its historic fabric.
Adaptive Re-use - 
Lexington has an abundance of vacant/underutilized buildings with historic and architectural value that lend themselves to re-use, examples are First Baptist Church, Victorian Square and others
Transferia - 
A multi-modal hub combining rail transport, local bus transport, a mega parking garage for commuter use, within walking and cycling distances of the core and residential neighborhoods. Transferia would have an enormous impact on Lexington's development strategy (Future Proof).
The plan also included a timeline and budget for spending $5 million over the next two years that would be provided by the city and state with LFUCG putting up $1.5 million.
If approved, the $5,000,000 in "pre-development" funds for 2012-2014 would be utilized for the following activities:
Administration (Project Director, Project Planner, Legal, Communications, etc)
$500,000
Program Manager
$600,000
Economic/Financing Studies (Bonds, Advertising, Sponsorship, etc.)
$450,000
Arts Facility Feasibility (SCAPA, Performing Arts Theater, Other)
$200,000
Survey/Site/Environmental
$500,000
Design/Engineering/Professional Services
$2,450,000
Land Acquisition
$50,000
Contingency
$250,000
Recommended Potential Major Milestones:
Apr, 2012 Project Director and Project Planner Hired at Lexington Center Corporation Jun, 2012 Solicitation and Selection of Program Manager and Professional Consultants Oct. 2012 Completion of Economic/Financial Feasibility Studies
Nov, 2012 Solicitation and Selection of Design and Construction Teams
Jun, 2013 Completion of Concept Design
Dec, 2013 Completion of Schematic Design, Cost Estimates

Early 2014 Site Work/Demo Construction Begins
*Aug, 2014 Issuance of Bonds, Commencement of Major Construction
Projected based on availability of construction funding to be confirmed
The construction schedule anticipates an approximate 3 1⁄2-year construction period:
Site Work/Lexington Convention Center Construction (Spring, 2014 - Fall, 2016) Rupp Arena, Town Branch Park Construction (Spring, 2015 - Summer, 2017)