Plaza, Amphitheater Coming to Lexington's Main Street

Lexington is planning to build a plaza with an amphitheater on Main Street as its next step in revitalizing the downtown area. 

Town council gave final approval Thursday to the purchase of close to two acres at the corner of West Main and South Church streets for $945,000.

The plaza will be a venue for concerts and other events, town officials said, and will include retail space and some parking. 

"This will be the epicenter of Lexington," Mayor Randy Halfacre said. "It's going to be a hotbed of activity."

Halfacre said the town hopes to sell some of the existing retail space, such as the old Shireys building, to entrepreneurs. The town will also encourage developers to build new retail spaces on the property. 

"This is actually the entrance corridor for the downtown area," Councilman Ted Stambolitis said. "It is vital to the revitalization of downtown. I think it's going to have a very large economic impact. This is a grand slam."

The town is still in the beginning stages of planning the project, Town Administrator Britt Poole said, so they don't have an estimated cost for the work yet. 

Funding will likely come from multiple sources, Poole said, including a TIF (tax increment financing) distrcit, the general fund and the town's ability to sell bonds.

The town doesn't have a start date for the project either. Halfacre said it depends on when the owner of , which is located on one of the parcels the town is buying, can relocate. He has between six months and a year to move.

The plaza will be the third park in the downtown area, after Virginia Hylton Park and the new Lexington Square. It will also connect to the town's Palmetto Collegiate Institute and Gardens on South Church Street. 

The town is also proposing a 1.1-mile trail that will connect Main Street, South Church Street, Virginia Hylton Park, Fort Street and Lexington United Methodist Church.

Initial plans for the project were developed by Catalyst Architects, but the town wants to hear input from residents on how the property should be developed, Halfacre said. 

"The rederings that we see are just that - the first stab at it. A very good stab at it though," Halfacre said. "Everyone has an opportunity to share with us what we ought to build here."

The proposed plaza will be across the street from .

The announcement of the plans for the plaza came just a few weeks after .

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