Town Branch Park officials announced Tuesday that the project has exceeded its year-end fund-raising goal, as Phase I of the evaluation and design process comes to a close. The project has so far raised more than $12.2 million, exceeding its year-end goal of $12 million.
“It is wonderful to see families – some with multigenerational roots in Lexington and some relatively new to our community – come together to make this a better place to live, work, play and connect,” said Allison Lankford, executive director of Town Branch Park. “Families across Lexington realize the importance of this park and want to be a part of it. And, their generous donations have fueled our efforts to move into the final design phase.”
Phase I of the project also included receiving 501(c)3 nonprofit designation, which establishes Town Branch Park as Lexington’s first and only park conservancy; finishing environmental assessments, site survey, and geotechnical studies; and completing an inclusion report to help ensure the park is welcoming and inclusive to all.
“I bought my office on Main Street 35 years ago,” said Bill Justice, owner of Justice Real Estate, who made one of the year-end donations. “The transformation of downtown since then is exciting. Town Branch Park will be its centerpiece. Cities with downtown parks throughout the United States are thriving, and so will Lexington.
“Lexington has been good to me, and I want to share in something special for generations to come,” he said.
Bob Rouse, of the Rouse Family Foundation, which also made a year-end donation, said: “This park is going to be an integral part of the growth of downtown. The whole family grew up here and is raising children here. It’s an unbelievable place to raise a family, and downtown is a huge part of it. This is a wonderful project and will help get Lexington’s downtown where it needs to be.”
The park has an overall goal of $31 million in private funds to create a signature downtown park on more than nine acres of land located behind Rupp Arena and the Central Bank Center, which is currently undergoing a multi-year renovation project. The park will also will function as the trailhead connecting 22-miles of paved trails leading from downtown to into Lexington’s rural landscape.