Turner Development also installed state-approved cut-through on Winchester Road
LEXINGTON, Ky. (Sept. 24, 2012) — After sitting vacant for five years, the two-story building on Winchester Road at New Circle has undergone a complete renovation and is ready for commercial occupancy. The Gateway Building is one of the most high-efficiency, low-energy buildings in the commonwealth, at a highly visible site in the city.
Turner Development purchased the property from Citizens National Bank in Paintsville in June 2012, started construction in July and finished renovations in September. Jim Nuti was the original builder in 2007, but the project was 60 percent complete and left unfinished for five years. Nuti had named the project Gateway Plaza; Turner honored that concept, calling it the Gateway Building. Signage proclaims the energy-efficient building as “The Gateway to Lexington.”
“It was one of the most well-structured buildings I have seen in years,” said Ron Turner, owner of Turner Development, who was first attracted to the project because of its location. Winchester Road is a major access point to downtown from I-75 and from both directions of New Circle Road. The distance from I-75 to the Gateway Building is 1.9 miles.
The Kentucky Department of Transportation granted Turner permission to make a cut-through in the median for westbound travelers on Winchester Road to make a left turn. The cut-through, which Turner Development implemented one weekend in mid-August at a cost of $50,000, also gives emergency vehicles easier access to the building and the neighborhood. Previously, emergency vehicles would have to turn on Anniston Drive and go around to the neighborhood, instead of turning directly off Winchester Road onto Helm Street.
The 32,400-s.f. glass building has 16,200 s.f. on each floor. Turner Development gave the exterior a new look with a roof and large windows, provided mechanical and electrical finishes, installed landscaping and irrigation, and increased the parking lot by 30 percent to a total of 160 parking spaces.
The Gateway Building’s large double-thermal glass panes have low thermal emissivity (low E) for high energy efficiency. The roof insulation has an R-21 rating. The exterior lighting of the property is 100 percent LED, which typically has 100,000 life hours (approximately 22 years, if used 12 hours per day), compared with HID light bulbs (high-intensity discharge), which may last 20,000 hours. The property is 100-percent sprinkled irrigation, and the system has separate sprinklers for flowers, for grass and for trees and shrubs, ensuring the lowest water usage possible.
The Gateway Building has underground utilities. Lighting was installed by Amteck of Kentucky, the global electrical and engineering design/build firm Turner founded in 1967 and is owned and run by his son, Daren Turner.
Jeff Singer and Singer Gardens provided landscaping for the property.
Tenants are expected to include medical offices and labs, engineers and architects, and other professional offices. David Allen with The Gibson Company is the leasing agent for the Gateway Building.
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