Photo by Amy Wallot
LEXINGTON, Ky. — U.S. Representative Andy Barr today announced a $10 million grant for the city’s 200-acre Legacy Business Park between Georgetown Road and I-75.
This Congressionally Direct Spending will complete funding for infrastructure – roads, sewers and sidewalks — in the park. Lexington Chief Development Officer Kevin Atkins said the city is already actively marketing the 23 lots in the industrial park.
“This project underscores the community’s commitment to bolstering economic growth and creating jobs in Lexington. I am proud to be able to return Fayette countians’ hard-earned tax dollars back to our community,” Barr said.
“This new business park means jobs for our residents and tax revenue for our city,” Mayor Linda Gorton said. Over the next few years, the park is estimated to create almost 1,700 jobs. Annual local tax revenue is estimated at $2.9 million once the park is fully developed.
“We have already had a lot of interest in the park,” Atkins said. “Businesses are attracted to Lexington because of our highly educated work force, low cost of living, and quality of life.”
In 2018, Lexington acquired the land from the University of Kentucky. In exchange, the city transferred several roads near the UK campus to the university.
The agreement gave Lexington economic development sites needed to welcome manufacturing operations and other businesses to Fayette County.
Funding for the park’s infrastructure – a total of about $22.4 million — has come from federal, state and local resources.
