Bill Straus
Leannia Haywood, above, photographed in front of GreyLine Station. As NoLi CDC’s newly hired director of small business development, she will help support the Julietta Market’s business owners through consultations, group classes, coaching, mentorship meet-ups and workshops.
After nearly three years of planning and renovations, a repurposed historic former bus station in Lexington’s north side will be bustling once again when it opens in November.
GreyLine Station, located at North Limestone Street and Loudon Avenue, is a mixed-use retail, office and hospitality project that also includes space and rental rates for nonprofits and small start-up businesses looking to grow.
The 65,000-square-foot building, built in 1928, originally served as the headquarters and bus station for Southeast Greyhound Lines and, more recently, as headquarters and a maintenance repair facility for LexTran. LexTran sold the property to Needham Properties in 2018.
Renovations include a new roof; new plumbing, electric and climate-control systems; and replacing or repairing concrete and installing more than 3,500 new windows, Needham said. A newly installed rainwater harvesting system captures runoff water from the roof and directs it to cisterns beneath the parking lot for reuse. All told, the project represents a more than $5 million reinvestment in the community, said Needham, who also owns numerous other properties in the neighborhood.
“My desire to improve North Limestone and take the older buildings that are vacant and bring new life to them [has] always been an opportunity that inspires me,” he said.
Needham reported in October that GreyLine Station was about two-thirds booked, with strong interest from the community.
The Julietta Market
A major partner in the project is North Limestone Community Development Corporation (NoLi CDC), a nonprofit created in 2013 to cultivate new opportunities in Lexington’s Northside neighborhood. The organization is moving its offices to GreyLine Station and will have a major presence in the space: In addition to moving its monthly offices to the space, NoLi CDC is also launching a year-round, multi-vendor public market within GreyLine Station called The Julietta Market.
Named after the late Lexington activist Julia Etta Lewis, Julietta Market will occupy about 23,000 square feet within GreyLine Station and will include 72 kiosks, eight food stalls, art exhibitions, shared meeting and kitchen spaces, a stage, play area and more. The project aims to honor the spirit of Lewis, who was among the leaders in Lexington’s Civil Rights Movement and also led the fight against segregation in education, entertainment, shopping, restaurants and public transportation. The market will occupy about 23,000 square feet within GreyLine Station and will include 72 kiosks, eight food stalls, art exhibitions, shared meeting and kitchen spaces, a stage, play area and more.
While the organization is working in stages to implement an evolving vision, Julietta Market also plans include a year-round farmer’s market in conjunction with Black Soil, an organization with a mission to reconnect African Americans in Kentucky with their agricultural heritage and to help bring together urban families and farmers toward greater prosperity.
In June, NoLi CDC hired Leannia Haywood as director of small business development to help grow the market and to support fledgling entrepreneurs through one-on-one consultations, group classes, small-business coaching, mentorship meet-ups and workshops.
Bill Straus
Prior to joining the NoLi CDC, Leannia Haywood was director of the Boys and Girls Club of America in Lubbuck, Texas, where she launched a youth entrepreneurship program. She later spent four years as executive director of Grace of Serenity Living in Phoenix, leading a youth entrepreneurship program there.
Tenants at Julietta Market so far include Inebriated Baker, A Taste of Fall, U.S. Soap & Body and Sav’s Chill. Haywood said especially now during the pandemic, with higher income insecurity and job loss, it’s a perfect time for people of all ages to consider launching a business of their own.
“What we’re hoping is we’ll see more sustainability throughout this neighborhood,” Haywood said. “When you teach people how to support themselves, they in turn learn how to support others better.”
NoLi CDC has launched a $25,000 GoFundMe campaign to help keep expenses low for vendors. Other funding sources include grants from the Knight Foundation, Snowy Owl Foundation and a matching grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Haywood said donations will also help fund Shares Community Kitchen. Set to open early next year, the commercial-grade, regulations-compliant kitchen can be rented for as little as $25 a day.
“That’s unheard of, but with the community’s support, we can do it, so no one is barred from their dream [of starting a foodbased business],” Haywood said.
Room to grow
On the heels of its five-year anniversary, RADIOLEX, Lexington’s community radio station, is also planning a move into GreyLine Station before year’s end, general manager Mark Royse said.
“The GreyLine project is going to be transformative for the community, providing space for grassroots entrepreneurs and small local businesses,” he said. “It will allow us to double our space and offer expanded access to the public airwaves.”
Another tenant is Laura Clay, pastry chef/ owner of European-style bakery Laura Lou Pâtisserie.
Clay, a Lexington resident, planned an early November launch with a seasonal menu of muffins, croissants, tarts, quiches, eclairs, madeleines, cookies, holiday goodies and more. She’ll also offer coffee-based drinks.
Clay said she loves the concept of Grey- Line Station and its ability to offer greater access to opportunities. A self-taught baker, she said she decided to open her own shop in early 2020 to share her passion for making sweet treats.
While Needham has worked on many buildings in his career, this project is different, he said. As a business incubator, the site will continually evolve as expanding businesses envelop additional space, new businesses arrive and others relocate as their needs change.
GreyLine Station “is a living, breathing thing — much bigger than the actual building,” Needham said. “The whole is much greater than its parts.”