"The recommendations stemming from the 2002 College Town Study by Ayers Saint Gross centered on a combination of commercial, residential, logistical and aesthetic improvements in the study area. Referred to as the College Town, the study area consisted of the general region between UK and downtown Lexington.
The plan criticized the study area's dominance of unbuilt open space. According to the study, "Most of these spaces are used for surface parking that adds to the blighted feeling the area exudes. The discontinuous and fragmented building fabric results in an unfriendly pedestrian environment."
The "unfriendly pedestrian environment" was identified as the primary factor preventing the College Town from functioning as an effective urban environment, as the general population was unwilling to venture out on foot rather than utilizing motorized transportation.
The central element of the study is a list of 10 recommendations for converting the College Town into a vibrant urban environment linking UK and downtown Lexington.
A number of the recommendations identify specific areas of potential development. These targeted developments aimed to achieve sufficient infill in the underdeveloped areas in College Town to create what the study calls a "streetwall," an unbroken series of building facades that create a more pleasing pedestrian environment.
One recommendation called for South Limestone's development as a continuous retail corridor from Euclid to the Courthouse Complex. Martin Luther King Boulevard was recommended as a potential residential corridor linking UK to downtown Lexington. Another recommendation stressed the critical role of street corners as a part of the streetwall and recommended potential developments for vacant corner sites in College Town.
To support the economic viability of the businesses in recommended development areas, one recommendation called for UK to enact a self-imposed limit on campus retail space to no more than 35,000 square feet for five years to prevent competition with newly developed retail in College Town. The plan also recommended a mortgage assistance program for university employees who choose to live in College Town in order to stabilize existing neighborhoods.
As a supplement to the 10 central recommendations, five traffic concepts were proposed for College Town including conversion of one-way streets to two-way traffic, utilization of parking structures in place of surface parking lots as well as improvements to existing transit systems.
The study also included extensive retail and residential market analyses as appendixes to prove Lexington's ability to support the plan's extensive developments.
Looking forward
Hot spots for College Town development
The four areas identified below represent the most promising zones of ongoing and future development opportunity that have evolved as a result of the College Town study. Although the study shows numerous potential areas for redevelopment, these hot spots offer the greatest potential for progress toward the study's aims. The accompanying sketches, pulled from the College Town Study, show the study's vision for development at these locations.
High Street at Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard
Negotiations are underway for development above the Transit Center at Martin Luther King Boulevard and High Street. According to Harold Tate, president of the Lexington Downtown Development Authority, the site must be developed for mixed-use with retail on the first floor facing High Street and residential use on the levels above. In addition, UK is selling its vacant property on High Street between Martin Luther King Boulevard and Lexington Avenue, opening up another prime site for mixed-use development. The College Town Study identified this intersection as a key gateway for traffic between UK and downtown.
South Limestone and Chrysalis Court
After numerous delays, Kimball House Square is nearing completion, offering both commercial and residential units. Tate said that UK's acquisition of Good Samaritan Hospital will pave the way for future mixed-use development on the opposite side of Limestone and intersecting Chrysalis Court. "We will continue working with UK to do some type of infill in that area," Tate said. "That is pretty much all parking right now, and our goal is to pretty much remove as much parking as we can and maybe put a parking garage somewhere in that area that will help spur some more development."
Jersey Street
Identified as a potential mixed-use corridor by the College Town Study, Jersey Street offers development opportunities less than a block from campus. With the exception of a chain fast-food restaurant, Raising Cane's Chicken Fingers, currently under construction, the entire block between Jersey Street and South Upper from Euclid Street to Pine Avenue is occupied by surface parking lots. Tate said that numerous developers have expressed interest in developing the lots, which are well suited for mixed-use development. "I think they're waiting to see Center Court, Kimball House Square and South Hill Crossing and all that be completed before they move farther," Tate said.
Euclid Avenue at Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard
UK plans to improve its Student Center facilities by expanding the bookstore facade to the edge of Euclid Avenue. In addition, plans are underway to construct the new Gatton Business College in the parking lot at the corner of Martin Luther King Boulevard and Euclid Avenue. UK President Lee Todd is confident that the development will draw more students to the northern end of campus, which has been largely underutilized by UK students. An improved North Campus was recommended by the College Town Study to serve as a jump-off point from which students could easily venture to newly developed retail, dining and entertainment venues in the surrounding College Town area.