Lexington, KY – The Lexington Downtown Development Authority is soon to issue a request for “world-class” landscape architects to partner with local talent in bringing the longtime subterranean Town Branch Creek back to the surface through downtown.
“A lot of times if you look at cities that have brought back rivers there has been a major piece of infrastructure they’ve taken out in order to do it,” said Jeff Fugate, president of the DDA. “Luckily we don’t have a giant piece of infrastructure running through the middle of town, which means we actually have a much more constrained set of circumstances than you usually see in these, which I think can mean really cool design.”
Monday, the DDA board got a look at a draft Request for Qualifications expected to be released this week to build a master plan for the city to follow in phases as it brings back the creek the city was settled on.
“We can’t raise money without having some sort of vision to hang on it, so this is really the first step to really start answering the question, ‘what does it mean to reinvent the Town Branch through downtown Lexington,’” Fugate said in the board meeting.
Fugate said money for the plan has come through private fundraising. He anticipates needing more for design and the eventual construction, which he said would be done in stages, most likely starting near Rupp Arena.
“It needs to be more than just pretty pictures and lines on a piece of paper, it needs to be grounded in reality, but the fundraising and construction is likely to be iterative,” he said.
“People have to be patient with us because we’re going to answer the question much like the arena plan, which was a study in what’s possible. And then there will be work that comes later in making it a reality,” he said.
Fugate told the board he expects to see replies in four to six weeks.