The 700-car parking garage underpinning the CentrePointe project in downtown Lexington will be finished by spring 2017 and most of the hotel, condo and office complex to be built above it will be completed by summer 2018, according to developer Dudley Webb.
The project includes the latest “tweaks” that Webb says were suggested to him by the Courthouse Area Overlay Zoning District Board, which reviews and approves development projects in an approximately three-square-block area of downtown. The board examines features such as a building’s overall appearance, street frontage, quality of materials and landscaping.
“There were certain comments that they made that they thought would make the project better, such as a mid-line and a cap on the top of the building,” Webb said. “We wanted to add those so that we are totally compliant and hopefully everybody is happy.”
Webb described a mid-line as an architectural detail that demonstrates that there is a break in the design of the building part way up so that the façade isn’t too bland. Also, the cap on the building was added to make the overall look more appealing.
“The scale of the project has not changed, nor has the façade,” Webb insisted. “The office building changed a little bit, but beyond that, it is the same project as you’ve seen before.”
The Courthouse Area review board has not received any requests to examine the new designs, according to board chairman Luther Andal.
“It has not been submitted to appear on any dockets that we have,” he said.
Andal added that city planners ordinarily first review the design changes and if they feel the board also needs to review them, will send the documents to the board members.
Webb said completion of the two hotels planned for the site, a 233-room Marriott and a 142-Suite Residence Inn, will follow the rest of the project by several months.
“That’s because there is a lot more detail inside [the hotels], and it will take longer to build them,” Webb said. “Now that the construction contract has been signed, you are going to see people all over that block.”
Webb said that 30 percent of the space in the offi ce tower is committed and that he has 91 prospects interested in the 17 condos that are planned for the building.
“That’s on a first-come, first-served basis,” said Webb. “Those are high-end, lifestyle units.”
Webb has taken an optimistic tone talking about CentrePointe after months spent skirmishing publicly with the city over the long-delayed project. Work resumed on the project. Webb said he is “excited about the project and hopes they are too. It has taken too long. We know that. Hopefully, it will be worth the wait.”
The Downtown Lexington Corporation, the community and business advocacy group and event producer, looks forward to progress on CentrePointe after years of inactivity.
“We have always been supportive of the project,” said Renee Jackson Shepard, the DLC’s executive director. “The addition of 700 parking spots is a good thing right in the middle of downtown.
Shepard said there also is a need for two more major downtown hotels.
“When you look at plans for the renovations at the convention center, there is a need for more hotel rooms in order to attract and handle good-sized conventions, which will help Lexington become more competitive,” she said. Webb confirmed once more that a Jeff Ruby’s Steakhouse is still planned for the site. Ruby recently opened a new restaurant in Nashville. The entrance to both the restaurant and the two hotels will be at the corner of Limestone and Vine Streets and will feature a motor court where guests may be dropped off or drivers may enter the underground parking garage.
The city has been mostly silent about CentrePointe in recent months after years of battling with Webb over the site.
“A lot of it was miscommunication and the times that no one could control,” Webb said. “I know they were frustrated. They responded to the public, which was tired of seeing a hole. It cost $7 million to dig that hole. We never would have spent it if we knew we would be held up this long. Now we’re back on track, and the city has been very cooperative.”