5 firms will compete to design Town Branch Commons
When the Downtown Development Authority issued a request for a firm to design Town Branch Commons, bringing Town Branch Creek to the surface for the first time in more than 100 years, it received 23...
View ArticleTom Eblen: Pedways in CentrePointe design likely to be nixed
Designs for the stalled CentrePointe development have gone from bad to good for one reason: they must past muster with the Courthouse Area Design Review Board. When the hotel-retail- condo project was...
View ArticleKyv. Voices: Invest in arena-district plan to enliven city, attract jobs
Lexington needs jobs. And not just any jobs, but high quality jobs that can enrich us and in turn, enliven our community. This is important, as more than 80 percent of our city's revenues come from...
View ArticleRenovated Rupp Arena would meet UK's needs and cost far less than a new...
Renovating Rupp Arena would cost less than half of what the city would spend to build a new arena, and at the same time would include the priorities the University of Kentucky says it wants in a...
View ArticleWhat now for CentrePointe?
Anyone present in the overheated courtroom at the top of the old courthouse could feel the sense of relief when Jeanne Gang presented her preliminary ideas for the CentrePointe block in June,. It was...
View ArticleLatest version of CentrePointe shows progress in Lexington's design process
I will admit to suffering a bit of CentrePointe fatigue when I went to see a preview of the fifth iteration of Dudley Webb's still-unfunded downtown hotel, retail, office and condo development. But it...
View ArticleBank Building To Be Converted Into 21c Museum Hotel
The historic 15-story Fayette National Bank Building, which has graced Lexington's downtown skyline for a century, is slated to find new life as a 21c Museum Hotel. Steve Wilson, CEO of 21c Museum...
View ArticleBarnhart applauds city's efforts on Rupp, but says campus needs must come...
University of Kentucky Athletic Director Mitch Barnhart applauded the effort applied to Lexington's proposed entertainment district and renovation of Rupp Arena. But echoing UK's administration, he...
View ArticleTom Eblen: Rupp debate sparks creative ideas and new thinking for Lexington
Lexingtonians are a practical lot. If we talk about building something, we immediately want to know what it will look like, what it will cost and when it will be finished. And then we want to come up...
View ArticleFresh start on CentrePointe design gets a warm public reception
An overflow crowd of 300 people crammed into the Lexington History Museum on Thursday afternoon to hear Chicago architect Jeanne Gang describe a new design for Lexington's CentrePointe block. The...
View ArticleArchitect Jeanne Gang no longer involved with CentrePointe, developer says
Chicago architect Jeanne Gang, hired in March to come up with a new design for downtown Lexington's empty CentrePointe block, is no longer involved in the project, developer Dudley Webb said Thursday....
View ArticleBarnhart applauds city's efforts on Rupp but says campus needs must come first
University of Kentucky Athletics Director Mitch Barnhart applauded the effort applied to Lexington's proposed entertainment district and renovation of Rupp Arena. But echoing UK's administration, he...
View ArticleFinal report of Rupp task force envisions $300 million project with many...
The Arena, Arts and Entertainment District Task Force's final report envisions a $250 million to $300 million "transformation" of Lexington Center, including Rupp Arena, the Lexington Convention...
View ArticleHistoric Town Branch reemerges as a key to city plans
It is a great pleasure to witness the creative and analytical process unfolding in Lexington around the Arts and Entertainment task force design work of Space Group and Gary Bates. It has all the...
View ArticleTom Eblen: Plans for 21c hotel show downtown's economic potential
Lexington leaders were almost giddy last week after 21c Museum Hotels announced plans to turn the old First National Bank building into one of its award-winning hotels and contemporary art museums....
View ArticleChance to build a downtown economic engine
Since Mayor Jim Gray announced the creation of the Rupp Arena Arts and Entertainment District Task Force in March, its 45 members have been hard at work creating a plan for the 46 acres the city owns...
View ArticleArchitect presents ideas for Rupp and surrounding area
Coming up with ideas for an arena and arts and entertainment district for downtown Lexington is a give-and-take process, architect Gary Bates told about 200 people gathered at Buster's Tuesday night....
View ArticleTom Eblen: Town Branch is part of Lexington's past; can it be the future, too?
Lexington should have some answers in a few months to old questions about Town Branch Creek. What lies beneath? Would it be practical to resurface some or all of it as a downtown amenity? Lexington...
View ArticleTom Eblen: City design conference gives mayors new outlook
Few mayors come into office knowing much about architecture, design or urban planning, even though those issues are at the heart of some of the biggest, most expensive and longest-lasting decisions...
View ArticleConsultant unveils ideas for reinventing Rupp Arena and surrounding area
At a public meeting Wednesday, a consultant unveiled ambitious preliminary ideas for reinventing Rupp Arena and the surrounding area in downtown Lexington. Architect and urban planner Gary Bates,...
View ArticleUK design dean: Rupp redo would invigorate city's brand
Question: What does good architectural design and good urban planning mean to downtown? Answer: It helps unlock economic potential. Q: Why plan an investment now, when times are tough? A: To be ready...
View ArticleTom Eblen: Belief in a good outcome at CentrePointe requires hope
I knew that a successful partnership between Lexington developer Dudley Webb and world-class architect Jeanne Gang would require a triumph of hope over experience. At the urging of Mayor Jim Gray,...
View ArticleLexington committee OKs design for Rupp renovation, arts and entertainment...
A committee appointed to re-imagine Rupp Arena and a new downtown arts and entertainment district voted unanimously Saturday to renovate Rupp, approving a design that would strip the arena's...
View ArticleUK athletics, Toyota are biggest contributors to Rupp Arena task force
The University of Kentucky Athletics Department and Toyota were the two largest donors to a task force that recently developed a plan to revitalize Rupp Arena and the surrounding portion of downtown....
View ArticlePlanner says it's too early in process to determine Rupp's future
A downtown arena — whether a new or renovated Rupp Arena — can be the catalyst to unlock the potential for a proposed Arena, Arts and Entertainment District in Lexington, the master planner hired by a...
View ArticleArena master planner: Rupp could be renovated if convention center moved
The master planner for the Arena, Arts and Entertainment District has a unique blend of international experience and Lexington knowledge — and some interesting ideas about how this 46-acre chunk of...
View ArticleDevelopment authority asks for conceptual design to resurface Town Branch...
The Downtown Development Authority issued a request on Tuesday for a firm to do a conceptual design to bring the historic Town Branch Creek to the surface for the first time in more than 100 years....
View ArticleKy. Voices: Town Branch Commons a path to prosperity
For those stalwarts who've been advocating for the Town Branch Creek to become the reborn centerpiece of our city and a green conduit to link the city with our world-famous rural landscape, the recent...
View ArticleTown Branch Commons architect thrives on the unconventional
Kate Orff, whose New York landscape architecture firm was chosen last week to design Town Branch Commons, has made a name for herself by looking below the surface and beyond the conventional. The...
View ArticleNew York firm chosen to design Town Branch project through Lexington
A New York City firm — SCAPE/Landscape Architecture — got the nod from a panel of judges over the weekend to design a Town Branch Commons to run through downtown Lexington. The Downtown Development...
View ArticleTom Eblen: Winning Town Branch design is both best and most practical option
All five finalists submitted imaginative plans for Town Branch Commons, but the entry from Scape/Landscape Architecture PLLC was the clear winner. Scape's plan is the most authentic to Lexington. It...
View ArticleSCAPE selected to design Town Branch park downtown (City of Lexington, KY)
(Source: City of Lexington, KY) SCAPE / LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE is the winner of an international competition to design Town Branch Commons, a new park envisioned for downtown Lexington. "This plan has...
View ArticleTom Eblen: Town Branch Commons could bring special open space to downtown
Hardly a week goes by that people don't tell me how they wish the open block where the Webb Companies hopes to build CentrePointe could become a public park instead. As the block awaits redevelopment,...
View ArticleVote set for Monday on design for Town Branch Commons (City of Lexington, KY)
(Source: City of Lexington, KY) Contact: Mayor's Office: Susan Straub (859) 258-3111, (859) 576-2564 Lexington Downtown Development Authority: Jeff Fugate (859) 425-2296 A vote on the design of Town...
View Article5 finalists to make presentations to design Town Branch Commons
Five finalists in the running to design Town Branch Commons will each make their pitch this week to tackle the project. The finalists will make presentations, first, at a public meeting and later to a...
View Article5 firms vying to design Town Branch Commons
When the Downtown Development Authority issued a request for a firm to design Town Branch Commons, bringing Town Branch Creek to the surface for the first time in more than 100 years, it received 23...
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