City and state officials joined representatives from the University of Kentucky and the Lexington Center Board of Directors in a groundbreaking ceremony on July 19 to mark the beginning of the first phase of construction on the long-awaited replacement and expansion of the Lexington Convention Center.
The $241 million project—funded in part through city, state and private funds, as well as a 15-year lease with UK—is the single largest capital public improvement project in Lexington’s history. Once completed, the project is projected to increase the annual economic impact of the center by $58 million and, officials says, will help Lexington remain competitive and attract more convention business to the city.
“This will create jobs now and into the future,” said Mayor Jim Gray. “Jobs that will help us grow our quality of life.”
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Rendering of the new Main Street entrance.
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The view of the Convention Center along West Main St.
The new Convention Center will comprise more than 200,000 square feet when completed, including 100,841 square feet of exhibition space, 25,080 square feet of ballroom space and 26,756 square feet of meeting spaces.
The project will be organized into distinct phases. New Hospitality Clubs are scheduled for completion by November 2019, followed by the completion of a new Exhibit Hall in May 2020, a new ballroom in October 2020, with the entire project scheduled for completion by November 31, 2021, according to Lexington Center officials.
Speaking at the groundbreaking ceremony, Mayor Gray made a point of saying that all men's UK Wildcat basketball games will be played as scheduled in Rupp Arena, with minimal impacts from construction.
The "Catwalk," an outdoor stairway and gathering space, will connect High St. and Main St.
Designed by NBBJ Architects of Los Angeles and EOP Architects of Lexington and Louisville, the project is designed to better connect Rupp Arena and the Convention Center to downtown Lexington, with small parks and plazas—including an exterior stair and gathering area outside Rupp Arena known as the “Catwalk” and a new outdoor space at the Convention Center called the “Gorge”—that provide outdoor exhibit space, interactive water features and a place to gather and mingle. The Convention Center’s public outdoor areas will also serve as an extension of the Town Branch Trail and Town Branch Park, which is scheduled to begin construction shortly after the Convention Center project is completed.