"We've been dreaming about this kind of development for years. Demographics and economics have finally caught up with our dreams, and downtown Lexington is on the cusp of a boom.
Over 20 significant mixed-use projects are under construction in downtown Lexington, and it seems another crops up every month. These projects are diverse and innovative, exhibiting unprecedented design quality for the region, and almost all are of a scale that will greatly enhance the city.
This exciting phenomenon could be a turning point for the region, saving us from the mind-numbing anonymity that has engulfed so many other cities. Some downtown projects are imaginatively reusing former warehouses and manufacturing facilities, transforming them into hip, funky, industrial-style residential lofts, live/work spaces and versatile retail environments. Other projects are filling voids in the fabric of the city, putting exciting structures where open lots have felt like missing teeth for decades. And still others are providing retail and residential opportunities in previously marginal locations that are suddenly getting hot.
The intensity of this development is interesting, particularly as it coincides with a substantial decline in new housing starts outside New Circle Road. Pent-up demand for urban living space has combined with innovative business models to engender this new type of growth. One clue to the nature of the business model is the scale of the developments. Every one of these projects is elegantly scaled, large enough to provide for some wonderful amenities, but not too big to undermine the predominantly horizontal aesthetic of Lexington.
City streets are defined by the scale and density of buildings. Walking in a city feels best when there is a consistent rhythm to the buildings, and when they rise to a consistent height. The most successful urban streets have enough buildings to suggest a continuous wall, and have proportions (street width to building height) that are insistently spatial, giving one a sense of being in an outdoor room. Lexington's urban fabric has been eroding for 40 years, as building after building is lost to misguided efforts at "urban renewal," demolition by neglect, and demand for surface parking. But there is enough of the city left to allow for a dramatic renaissance, and it seems to be on its way.
There is an optimistic buzz in the design community that I have never heard before, and it is stimulated by a sense that the new downtown activity is heading in the right direction. The appealing scale of most of these developments and their healthy attention to principles of urban planning are particularly exciting. Suddenly Lexington seems to have all the promise that inhabited our dreams for so many years.
One project in particular lends itself to demonstrating how this downtown activity could be transformative. CenterCourt, the mixed-use development on South Upper Street where the Avenue of Champions terminates, is most powerful in the way it enhances the cityscape. In a location where idiosyncratic buildings and businesses are the norm, the main body of this building reacts to the site in an ideal way, operating at multiple scales and introducing a vibrant architectural vocabulary.
The facade of CenterCourt is placed tight to the street, establishing a healthy precedent for further development along Upper Street. The facade curves back in a half circle as if to provide a catcher's mitt for the energy surging down the Avenue of Champions. This architectural gesture operates at the scale of the city, establishing a powerful but welcoming presence, even as one approaches from far down the avenue. By deferring to the city's plan, the elegantly curved court has a dual effect: it gives one a sense that the building is respectful of its place in the city, and it simultaneously creates the impression that this part of the city could not exist in its current form without the CenterCourt building.
Upon closer inspection, the quality of the development does not disappoint. The recessed court introduces ground-floor retail and provides access to the development's parking structure. The exterior materials and forms are fresh and original. They break down the mass of the building, making a visual texture that is of a comfortable, human scale, and they seem particularly well-suited to the immediate environment and to the city as a whole.
CenterCourt's introduction of design excellence to the university district bodes well for this historically neglected area. Several people not generally inclined to talk architecture have mentioned CenterCourt to me with compliments. Even before it is complete, the project is establishing itself as a favorite Lexington landmark.
It won't be long before many of the other new projects will become regular subjects of conversation. Soon they will be contributing to the health and vibrancy of Lexington by rejuvenating or creating fine urban spaces. They will reduce traffic by bringing people closer to their places of work and play, and new downtown residents will encourage still more development as their presence engenders support businesses.
Good design is good business, and downtown Lexington is getting a strong dose of both. Pinch me, I must be dreaming.
Graham Pohl is a principle of the Lexington architecture and interior design firm, Pohl Rosa Pohl.