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'Built for our community, but also by our community': Town Branch Park takes shape on the page

Design plans for a world-class park in downtown Lexington have been unveiled, informed by input from thousands of residents.

In the heart of Town Branch Park, there will be a plaza with swinging benches under shade trees. Next to that: an amphitheater that will seat 3 to 5 thousand people for shows of all kinds, and that building will also have amenities for daily use like restrooms and a cafe. It’s part of the plan for 10 acres adjoining Central Bank Center.

Kate Took is a landscape architect for the Town Branch Park Project. She said there will also be . . .

“. . . A destination adventure playscape, which is really a unique amenity in Lexington—an opportunity for children and families to play in a landscape that is uniquely Bluegrass, with stones to climb on, a four-level gristmill tower that has a 27-foot slide descending from it—so, opportunities to get really high up, experience the view over Town Branch Creek, and then shriek with delight as you descend. And then, a dog park.”
Kate Took, Principal Design Lead for the Town Branch Park Project

The dog park will have synthetic grass with a built-in cleansing irrigation system.

Allison Lankford, Executive Director of Town Branch Park, said the project she’s been working on since around 2006 has engaged with over 16-thousand local residents.

“We really believe that it’s a park that’s being built for our community, but also by our community—Because all of that feedback we have taken seriously and interpreted into what you see today in the final design. So, it’s such an exciting time to reveal to the community what they helped create.”
Allison Lankford, Executive Director of Town Branch Park

Lankford says for the next few months, they’ll be getting paperwork in order, including construction documents that will go out to bid. Local contractors Dean Builds and Elaine Allen make up the construction management team. They’re expected to break ground in the Spring of 2023.

Thursday’s unveiling wasn’t the only chance to see the plans. Pop-up displays will take place almost every day for the next week, at the following locations:

Lexington Public Library Northside Branch
1733 Russell Cave Road
Monday, Sept. 26
10 a.m. - 5 p.m.

Lexington Public Library Village Branch
1801 Alexandria Drive, Suite 136
Tuesday, Sept. 27
10 a.m. - 5 p.m.

Lexington Public Library Eastside Branch
3000 Blake James Drive
Wednesday, Sept. 28
10 a.m. - 5 p.m.

Lexington Public Library Beaumont Branch
3080 Fieldstone Way
Thursday, Sept. 29
10 a.m. - 3 p.m.

Thursday Night Live
251 W. Main St.
Thursday, Sept. 29
5 p.m. – 8 p.m.

Lexington Public Library Tates Creek Branch
3628 Walden Dr.
Friday, Sept. 30
10 a.m. - 5 p.m.

Lexington Farmers Market
Tandy Centennial Park
Saturday, Oct. 1
9 a.m. - noon