Renfroe Proposes Opportunity Zone to Save Old Civic Center
Phillip Renfroe recently addressed the Lexington Board of Mayor and Alderman about a venture to save the Lexington Civic Center.
Photo by: W. Clay Crook / The Lexington Progress
Article by W. Clay Crook-
Henderson County Historian and local businessman, Phillip Renfroe, addressed the Lexington Board of Mayor and Aldermen during their work session on Tuesday evening, February 19, 2020, on a venture that could possibly save the front portion of the Lexington Civic Center, better known to many as the old Lexington City School building. Mayor Griggs, in giving an update on the property, said that the insurers had dropped everything but liability coverage on the building and now requires the building to be firmly secured and no trespassing signs posted in order to continue liability coverage. Alderman Jack Johnson said that the lot is very valuable to the city, “we don’t have any other properties that size,” Johnson said, and due location and accessibility might be suitable for a new city hall and office complex.
Renfroe agrees that much of the building cannot be saved, including the auditorium, but feels that the front portion of the 1926 building, which is not only architecturally and historically significant for the area, but “is perhaps the crown jewel of the historically significant buildings left in Lexington.” Renfroe said that although Lexington has the reputation for not saving historic buildings, at least half of the buildings around downtown are…
For complete coverage, see the February 26th edition of The Lexington Progress.
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