A demand by the city of Lexington that the excavated hole for the CentrePointe parking garage be filled in because they say work has come to a halt at the site has itself been halted.
The Webb Companies say an unnamed development group is interested in being a part of the CentrePointe project. A joint statement released by the city and developers said.
In the spirit of cooperation and with the goal of a successful development, the city and the Centrepointe development team have been in conversation.
An interested private development partner approached the Centrepointe development team early this week and has asked for time to explore whether the project is right for them.
This new third party has asked that they remain unnamed at this time. "It’s early in the process and the third party hasn’t made a firm decision about whether it will be involved in the project,” said city spokeswoman Susan Straub. “But city officials have met with this group and have confidence in its financial ability to develop a project of this magnitude.”
Straub said, “Lexington’s patience is wearing thin on Centrepointe, but everyone views this as an important development to the community. We need to give this new company time to do its evaluation. This is a private project.”
The plan means that the city will delay action on its restoration agreement with the developers. The agreement requires that developers either restore the site or provide $4.4 million to return the downtown block to its pre-existing condition (before it was excavated for an underground parking garage).
This statement will be the last public statement by either the city or the development team until the development team, property owners and the new third party make a decision on whether or not to proceed with a new partnership. That decision will be made in 90 days or less.