Lexington’s search for a new city hall moved a step forward Tuesday as Mayor Jim Gray was expected to consider a council panel’s recommendation that the city pay nearly $200,000 to a Cincinnati-based consulting group for help weighing site locations.
Talk of creating a new government center is nothing new, but the planning has taken on new urgency in the wake of ownership change at the long stalled CentrePointe project, where for years now two massive construction cranes have stood mostly unmoving above a city block-wide crater on prime downtown real estate.
Susan Straub, spokeswoman for Gray, said last month that proposals from two groups -- Jones Lang LaSalle Management of Cincinnati and Lexington-based Haymaker Commercial Real Estate -- were being considered.
In a request to Gray dated Sept. 30, Todd Slatin, director of purchasing, requests approval of an agreement to pay Jones Lang LaSalle up to $198,500 for services this fiscal year. The request says the funds are already budgeted.
It was unclear why Jones Lang LaSalle was chosen over Haymaker. Straub previously said she said could not reveal the substance of the proposals until the work is officially awarded.
The consulting firm hired by the city will have 90 days to deliver its report and recommendations.
Any decision on whether the new government building eventually is built on the CentrePointe block downtown, as the site’s new developers have suggested, or elsewhere isn’t expected anytime soon.
The city’s “request for proposals” on the project said the city wanted consultants to study the government’s downtown properties, namely the Government Center Building and Garage on East Main Street and the Switow Building, a few doors away. The two buildings provide work space for 334 employees and house council chambers and multiple conference rooms.
In the RFP’s “Scope of Work” section, consultants were told they would analyze the current Lexington-Fayette Urban County Government’s use of space and develop recommendations for future needs. The consultants also are expected to identify alternatives for new facilities either on property already owned by LFUCG or on outside properties.
The latter idea has generated some interest after the moribund CentrePointe project saw some new life. On Aug. 7, CentrePointe’s new developers announced they would consider partnering with the city to include a new city hall as part of their project design. Previous CentrePointe design plans have included a hotel, offices, retail space and a parking garage. Gray did not take a public position on the proposal, instead issuing a statement saying protecting taxpayers was paramount.
“We need to be cautious about it,” council member-at-large Richard Moloney said last month. “The problem I have with it is we’re talking about the most expensive property in downtown Lexington, I think. The city would lease [space in] the building when we already own our own buildings. I’ll be open-minded and see what they bring to the table, but leasing a building isn’t one of my top priorities.”
The city has had a new city hall on its wish list for years. The administration of former Mayor Jim Newberry solicited a study that recommended a new city hall be built outside of downtown near New Circle Road, but the plan wasn’t carried out for economic reasons. Two years ago, the city sought a private developer to help build a city hall but the plan never materialized.
One of the new developers for CentrePointe is Atit Jariwala, CEO of Bridgeton Holdings, a New York City firm with more than 60 real estate projects in 12 states and another 11 in development. Jariwala has declined interview requests on the matter.
“We need a little more time right now. If you don’t mind, we’ll get in touch when we’re ready, which should be soon,” Jariwala said in an email last month.