In Tuesday, September 16th's Council Work Session, Council will discuss whether to move ahead with a proposal to construct a new City Hall at 200 West Vine Street.
LFUCG has been trying to build or purchase a new City Hall for decades. In recent years, Council has rejected multiple proposals for a new site, studied several downtown LFUCG-owned properties for viability, and created a Capital Reserve Fund for the primary purpose of eventually funding a new City Hall.
The Lexington Opportunity Fund was one of three groups to submit a proposal in late 2024. Under this proposal, LFUCG would enter a public-private partnership with the Opportunity Fund to develop a new building at 200 West Vine Street, in the Truist Bank building. The building has housed BB&T and PNC Bank in past years.
Council began negotiations with the Lexington Opportunity Fund in April of this year. There aren't any major details about how such a partnership would work operationally or financially, but similar public-private partnerships often include shared financing of construction or renovation between both groups. Typically, a government will rent the property from the private owner for several years before eventually assuming ownership of it.
As negotiations seem to be winding down, Council can choose to enter an agreement with the Lexington Opportunity Fund to move forward with the project. An official design would then be developed for exactly what the new City Hall would look like. The Mayor's Administration aims to break ground for construction sometime in 2026.
The current City Hall costs millions of dollars for LFUCG to maintain each year, with an estimated $55 million in deferred maintenance needs. In recent years, LFUCG has spent $4.3 million to replace elevators, improve the HVAC system, renovate the parking garage, and more.
LFUCG hopes a new City Hall would be more financially efficient, more accessible to the public, and a better workplace environment than the current City Hall.
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Watch the meeting: Council Work Session will be held on Tuesday, September 16th at 3pm in Council Chambers. You can attend in-person or watch live on LexTV.
