Lexington, KY - Bill Edwards opened up Chevy Chase Hardware at 883 East High Street more than 12 years ago, a move that came after he bounced the business around Lexington for more than a quarter century. Parking is tight at his family-owned shop, nestled in a corner of Chevy Chase near Tates Creek Road, and backing a car out of a spot in front of the store onto the main road is often like playing a high-risk game of peek-a-boo.
Still the affable Edwards, a throwback to the days of mom-and-pop hardware store owners, counts his blessings. After all, things are tough (he even has to pay for additional parking spots behind his store to accommodate his customers) but they could and have been worse.
“When they repaved and relined the road about six years ago, surprisingly enough, it corrected a lot of problems,” Edwards said. "We used to have a wreck right in front of our parking lot about every three weeks until they did that. It’s just something you get used to and deal with as best you can. … As far as getting out of here or anywhere, it can be tough.
“So why are we staying here? It’s a great spot other than the parking. It’s a great neighborhood and very supportive, far more than the other locations we had before we bought this store. It’s just a unique area.”
City council member Bill Farmer of the fifth district wants to make sure Edwards and his neighbors stay.
Farmer, who also owns Farmer’s Jewelry at nearby 821 Euclid Avenue, has been spending more and more time peddling a potential streetscape revival plan for the roadways running through Chevy Chase. The plan specifically includes redesigning the interchange where Euclid, Fontaine and High Street merge.
With the recent arrivals of the Morris Book Shop, McAllister’s Deli, Graeter’s Ice Cream, a number of other new shops and news that the old Buddy’s restaurant location will soon become a Brewpub, the district is rapidly approaching “critical mass” in terms of business density. That growth has been accompanied by a significant increase in pedestrian and vehicular traffic - all converging on and traversing an intersection that had for years prior drawn complaints as outdated, even downright dangerous.
The plan also encompasses improvements to entrances and intersections involving South Ashland Avenue and Tates Creek Road; creating an environment that would promote safety as well as encourage pedestrian and bicycle users to utilize the area; and enhance the roadways, bike paths and sidewalks with a beautification initiative.
The plan stems from a feasibility study performed by Lexington-based Palmer Engineering at the behest of the Lexington-Fayette Urban County Government. The wheels for the plan were set in motion during the past decade by residents and and Farmer’s council predecessor, Cheryl Feigel, and it has been in development for two years, or since before Farmer assumed his council seat in January 2011 (he had also been a council member for a decade prior to that during the mid-1990s).
There is no specific timetable for the plan if it were to be started, though Farmer indicated it would likely be completed in phases to ease any burdens on local businesses and residents.
If a makeover of the busy intersection were to be green lighted it would be another significant move for the Chevy Chase area, coming on the heels of an announcement by Kroger to not only expand its existing store on Euclid Avenue to mirror that of the 90,000-square foot location off Tates Creek Road, but also create a structure that would meet any growing parking needs without having to acquire and demolish neighboring structures to create a sea of parking spaces.
But, as with anything else, the plan comes with a pricetag – a hefty one at that.
Initial estimates for the project price it at $6.94 million and would include placing some utilities underground.
Farmer has been shopping the proposal to a number of constituencies, including congressman Ben Chandler’s office as well as the Downtown Development Authority and other city government posts. Farmer calls the proposed project a “holistic approach” to Chevy Chase’s woes and compares it to work performed the past few years along South Limestone and Vine Street.
Still, securing city, state or national money will likely be a challenge.
Derek Paulsen, the LFCUG Commission of Planning, Preservation and Development, said the Chevy Chase plan is on a government list of potential projects and pointed out the surge of new businesses and pedestrian traffic in the area. But he also indicated the Chevy Chase plan is still in the conceptual stages and it’s much tougher financially and planning-wise to start a new initiative rather than continue and existing project.
“Right now, with the current state of the economy, it’s more difficult,” Paulsen said. “I think the state and the feds are focusing on major projects such as Leestown Road, Newtown Pike and Clays Mill – projects that are pretty big and have more of a citywide scope.
“Would it be nice to have the money for Chevy Chase? Absolutely. But it’s sort of the reality of projects right now. They’re difficult to get the funding and bonding for. We have a lot of large projects that are ongoing and have been ongoing and we’re just happy to do be able to do that right now. We’re looking at a few new ones and Chevy Chase will probably be on that list. But we have a lot of needs and not a lot of money.”
One outlet Farmer is looking to utilize to subsidize the plan is the Bluegrass Community Foundation. Individuals and business owners can contribute to the project fund through that organization, using it as a safe-keeping, accumulating fund along with any government money Farmer may be able to secure. With government backing still very much in the air, that option has kept Farmer’s batteries charged with regards to the project.
“Nobody owns Chevy Chase, the community does,” Farmer said. “And the community has always been interested in improving it, bringing things to a higher level. There’s so many connected and interested people in the area … the more people out there talking about it the better off we are.”
Cost Estimates for Each Portion of the Intersection Project
EUCLID AVENUE
Construction $400,000
Utility $660,000
Right of Way $50,000
Streetscaping $570,000
Engineering / Landscape Design $100,000
Total $1,780,000