Understanding the Opportunities
The five-month planning process began with a comprehensive assessment of the site’s existing conditions, challenges and opportunities. Because Coldstream is located within the Cane Run Watershed and the Royal Spring Aquifer, environmental considerations were central to the planning effort. Rather than treating these natural systems as constraints, the team explored strategies to protect and enhance the site’s ecosystem while leveraging its natural features as opportunities for placemaking and potential funding.
The team also evaluated the site’s broader transportation context, including access to I-75 and I-64 through Newtown Pike and Georgetown Road. A potential connection to the Legacy Trail offered an opportunity to provide multimodal access to future jobs while reinforcing the park’s identity and creating a meaningful placemaking element.
Shaping the Plan With Community Input
With a strong understanding of the site in place, the project team developed early infrastructure and land-use concepts and gathered feedback from community stakeholders and residents of the adjacent Coventry and Kearney neighborhoods. Through an online engagement portal, community meetings, interactive surveys, and direct text lines, Gresham Smith sought input on issues most important to the community, including traffic and roadway safety, access and circulation, visual impacts, and potential land uses. That feedback informed the development strategy and helped shape an implementation plan outlining strategic financing options, zoning timelines, phasing plans, and permitting steps. The result was a practical roadmap designed to move the project from vision to implementation, create economic development opportunities for Lexington, and support the surrounding community.
Delivering on an Aggressive Schedule
Finalizing a comprehensive master plan in five months required close coordination among Gresham Smith, LFUCG, and the project team, which included Commonwealth Economics, Third Rock Consultants, LLC, Cultural Resource Analysts, Inc., and Stoll Keenon Ogden, PLLC. The team established a detailed schedule for meetings and deliverables and set expectations for community engagement early in the process. The effort also took place during the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, but by using virtual engagement tools and programs, the team maintained communication with the client, project partners, and surrounding community while keeping the planning process on track. Completed in 2021, the Coldstream Master Plan established a clear and implementable vision for the site.
From Vision to Implementation
Following the master plan’s completion, LFUCG selected Gresham Smith to advance the vision into implementation, transforming the concept into Legacy Business Park. Working with Cushman & Wakefield, Gresham Smith’s team designed public infrastructure, including roadway and trail design, wastewater systems, stormwater management, and site features that prioritized connectivity and placemaking. The team navigated complex regulatory requirements, including permits for three stream crossings and coordination with the USACE. Construction began in 2025, with Gresham Smith providing on-site inspection services for the $18 million infrastructure effort, monitoring earthwork, utilities, erosion control, and stormwater management while maintaining community communication throughout.
A Future-Ready Legacy Takes Shape
By carrying the project from existing-conditions analysis, community engagement, and master planning through design, permitting, and construction support, Gresham Smith is helping LFUCG transform a 200-acre opportunity into a future-ready employment center that advances economic opportunity while prioritizing ecological preservation, multimodal connectivity, public space, and quality of life, demonstrating how thoughtful planning and coordinated implementation can create lasting value for businesses and the community.