CentrePointe’s new owners are proposing to redesign the moribund project, with plans for the city to be an anchor tenant in a new city hall, officials said Tuesday.
City officials said Bridgeton Holdings will invest millions of dollars and take over management of the controversial and chronically delayed development that has left a city block-size crater in the heart of downtown Lexington.
The city said Centrepointe LLC, operated by original developer the Webb Companies, “would maintain a small passive ownership of the development, reflecting the contributions it has previously made to the site.”
Lexington Mayor Jim Gray heralded the new moves Tuesday, but with an added note of caution.
“Today is a first step. It’s a positive development that I hope leads to good jobs and a project that will have an economic impact beyond its physical borders, for the entire city,” Gray said in a statement. “We don't want to be overly optimistic because there's a lot of work to be done to pull this together, but what we do know is that this development team brings real cash and enormous experience to the table. That's a big deal."
The city says Bridgeton plans to invest $166 million to finish the project.
Calls and emails sent to Bridgeton Holdings were not immediately returned. Developer Dudley Webb has said confidentiality agreements prevent him from commenting on the plans.
The city said Bridgeton’s plans for the project remain the same: producing a mixed-used development in the heart of downtown. Gray acknowledged that the new developers hope to bring the city in as a major tenant with a new city hall as a key component of the development. On that note, too, he offered caveats along with optimism.
“While the developer may want the city to move city hall, there has been no commitment to do that and there will not be any commitment to do that or anything else on that property unless it’s in the best interest of the taxpayers,” Gray said. “Taxpayers have options and this city has and will consider every possible alternative.”
Late last week city officials announced that the Webb Companies had reached a new "agreement in principle" regarding the long delayed project.
News of the new investor group and project plans come after the city and Webb Companies squared off briefly over whether work was being done in compliance with agreements.