Mark Zerof
When Terry Sweeney started leading the newly formed Downtown Lexington Partnership (DLP) this past December, he didn’t just hit the ground running, he launched himself at a full sprint.
Sweeney
He’s already drawn up a busy schedule for a staff retreat in late January, followed by a retreat for partnership board members, and then a public open house to hear from “everyone under the sun who [has] an interest in downtown.”
Also planned are a “quick study” of downtown’s economic importance and a survey of businesses, customers and stakeholders about their perceptions of downtown. Both reports are to be ready in March. The perception survey will be repeated every two years.
All of the information gathering and consensus building is aimed at the March 30 rollout of a one-year action plan and a three-year strategic plan detailing steps the DLP will undertake to promote and strengthen Lexington’s already burgeoning downtown, as well as how it plans to measure and evaluate the impact of those efforts.
“Why a three-year plan? Because a five-year plan is too long,” Sweeney said during a recent interview at the DLP’s downtown office near Rupp Arena. “We want to bring a sense of urgency to everything we do. We don’t want to be here next year saying, ‘When are we going to start?’ Our operating mantra will be: ‘Do more; do it better; do it now.’”
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Mark Zerof
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Indeed, the DLP board already has voted to station uniformed safety ambassadors downtown starting this spring. These representatives are trained to give directions, answer questions or escort people to their cars if requested, and will augment a crew of cleaning ambassadors that are already in place.
The partnership was born last summer in a merger of the Downtown Lexington Corporation — which coordinated downtown events like Thursday Night Live — and the Downtown Lexington Development Authority, which backed economic development efforts.
Those functions and more will be run by the new partnership. The Downtown Lexington Management District, which promotes safety and beautification, will also operate under the partnership on a contract basis.
With the formation of the DLP, all downtown Lexington promotion and development will flow through one agency for the first time. It’s an arrangement some city leaders have advocated for as far back as former Mayor Pam Miller’s administration, said Steve Grossman, senior vice president with Hilliard Lyons and chairman of the Downtown Lexington Partnership board of directors.
Sweeney, a 43-year-old Indiana native, was named the partnership’s first president and chief executive officer in October, following a national search. Before that he led the Corpus Christi Downtown Management District in Texas, and previously directed real estate development for Indianapolis Downtown Inc.
While a single agency may cut costs, Grossman says the goal was always more about efficiency and reducing confusion. The partnership’s annual operating budget will be about $1.2 million, he said.
“With everybody under one roof, it will provide a much more focused approach, which will be a huge deal,” Grossman said.
Sweeney sees the partnership functioning like a “mall manager for downtown,” he said.
“In a mall, the front door is controlled by the mall manager, who makes sure everything is clean, safe, accessible and beautiful,” he said. “We seek to do that … managing downtown to bring customers to our businesses. We’ll need to build consensus, get people working together and leverage resources to bring about tangible results.”
On the development side, Sweeney says the partnership will work to identify downtown real estate that’s ripe for development, recruit developers and to spread the word that investing downtown is smart business. The DLP is also available to act as an intermediary between the city and developers to help smooth any issues that may arise during construction.
The partnership will also continue to organize and promote downtown events like Lexington’s annual Fourth of July celebration and the popular Thursday Night Live concert series. Lexington currently hosts nearly 100 downtown events annually. Those will continue and new events may be introduced, Sweeney said, but only if they fit the mission.
“Events can create business interruptions, so just having more isn’t always best,” he said. “We have to ask: ‘Do events attract customers to our businesses? Do they enhance the experience of downtown? Do they enhance downtown as the civic, cultural and entertainment center of the community?’”
Both Sweeney and Grossman see downtown as increasingly critical to Lexington’s continued growth.
Sweeney says many millennials and Generation Y members like living downtown, rather than being in the suburbs “where they have to drive everywhere.” Downtown also attracts many at or near retirement age who want to downsize while having amenities just footsteps away, he said.
"More than ever, downtown is the most important talent retention and recruitment tool you have."
“More than ever, downtown is the most important talent retention and recruitment tool you have,” Sweeney said. “Without a successful downtown, you can’t keep young talent, and you’re not going to compete in the global economy.”
Sweeney contends that the pending completion of the long-delayed CentrePointe project, renovation of the old Fayette County Courthouse and the planned Town Branch Greenway suggest a leap forward is coming for downtown.
CentrePointe will be “transformational,” he predicted, helping to boost downtown rental rates, stimulate more development and change perceptions.
The DLP is also poised to help bring impactful changes to Lexington’s downtown district.
“Our staff, our board members, the Urban- County Council members I’ve met so far … are all awesome,” Sweeney said. “There shouldn’t be anything we can’t accomplish. I’m just giddy to get to that March 30 start line.”