Plans to revitalize Lexington’s ailing downtown courthouse cleared their first hurdle Thursday as the Urban County Council gave the go-ahead to spend $12 million of the $22 million already earmarked for the renovation.
A resolution passed during last night’s session also sets the wheels in motion on state and federal tax credits the council hopes will supply $8 million of the $30 million dollar project. To take advantage of those dollars, the city must create special non-profit and for-profit entities to act as middlemen. Earlier this month, Jenifer Wuorenmaa, a city administrator working on the courthouse project, explained the reason.
"The LFUCG cannot utilize historic tax credits, thus we're going to ask for the endorsement of the creation other bodies than can utilize those tax credits," she said.
New construction work on the courthouse exterior isn’t anticipated until early summer.
The city hopes the renovations will pull in new tenants, who can contribute to ongoing maintenance costs.
