Lexington officials are searching for a new tenant to locate in a historic building in the city’s downtown Gratz Park. The hope is to have a resolution by this fall.
The Gratz Park Kitchen had been home to the Bluegrass Trust for Historic Preservation. It moved out a few months ago. Now, government officials are looking for a new entity to move in to the city owned property. Acting Chief of Staff in Lexington Mayor Jim Gray’s office, Geoff Reed says ongoing maintenance costs are a concern. “The real cost of the building is the upkeep. And it’s to the point now in the short term we would have to put two to three hundred thousand dollars in the building,” explained Reed. “Probably over a ten year period, we estimate a half million dollars.”
Reed says a couple of groups have expressed an interest in the building built in 1860. In addition, he says five to six groups currently meet in the basement of the structure. Reed says the city is working to help those organizations find new homes. ?