Creating Jobs & Prosperity
Lexington has been listed by several national publications as a “top ranked city” in many quality of life categories and is the Horse Capital of the World. Many people choose to live in or visit because of the beautiful greenbelt of farms, horse-related entertainment, the University of Kentucky, Bourbon and Brewgrass Trails, wineries, restaurants, healthcare, schools, and so many other attractions and amenities. Many businesses also choose to locate in Lexington for these same reasons.
Imagine Lexington seeks to capitalize on opportunities to build on these existing strengths. As a city with a diverse economy that provides many employment options, leading industries include Healthcare and Social Assistance; Retail Trade and Accommodations and Food Services; and the Wholesale Trade and Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services. Maintaining that diversity in industries and occupations and continuing to recruit employers, especially from industries with higher-paying jobs, will be beneficial to Lexington’s revenue flow and should provide upward mobility opportunities for employees in industries with lesser paying jobs.
Where are we now?
Agriculture in Lexington accounts for roughly 86% of Fayette County’s rural lands, with more than 50% dedicated to the equine industry; the Ag Cluster contributes approximately $8.5 million to the local tax base. Tourism is seeing an increase with key attractions including the natural beauty of the area, horse farms, equine events and racing, tours, the Bourbon Trail, restaurants, bourbon distilleries, scenic roadways, craft breweries, and more. Employers and industries range from small businesses, which employ 67.7% of Lexington’s workforce, to large entities such as the University of Kentucky, which is the single largest employer in the county. Revenue to support general operating expenses and the project needs of the city is generated from crucial employment and business taxes; increasing employment in industries with higher paying jobs can have a larger impact on increasing revenues. Workforce characteristics in Fayette County include a high educational attainment and a relatively stable labor force even as the city continues to grow; the need to recruit and retain young professionals will be important to the future.
Vision for Jobs & Prosperity
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Livability -
Diversity -
Prosperity
According to an annual survey of corporate executives, “quality of life” ranks third in the list of the top factors in determining where a new corporate site should go, behind only “availability of skilled labor” and “highway accessibility”. Quality of life is synonymous with “livability.” Trends have shown that millennials and young professionals specifically are choosing locations first and then finding employment. Desirable places attract people. The American Association of Retired Persons (AARP) has developed a Livability Index for people to measure how livable their community is. They consider livability through the lenses of housing, neighborhood, transportation, environment, health, engagement, and opportunity, and gauge access to opportunities in each of these categories. To the extent Lexington is able to improve in these areas, it will be increasingly successful in attracting world-class talent and employers to boost the economy.
Livability Policy #1 - Agritourism Economic Opportunities
Agritourism is an increasingly important part of Lexington tourism, and with recent developments like the creation of Horse Country, which has accounted for over 70,000 horse farm tours alone since its inception, and Boone Creek Outdoors zip line canopy tours, the timing is right to continue with that momentum.
READ MORE >>Livability Policy #2 - Rural Bluegrass Gateways & Roadways
Visitors to Lexington frequently remark about the scenic beauty observed while driving through the farmland on the way to a destination. Trips to horse farms, distilleries, breweries, or any of the other tourist hot spots become as much about the journey as the destination.
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Livability Policy #3 - Regional Athletic Field Complex
According to the 2018 Parks and Recreation Master Plan:
READ MORE >>Livability Policy #4 - Coordinate Transit Logistics for Special Events
The Lexington Area MPO regularly meets with the Traffic Safety Coalition subcommittee, the Transportation Technical Coordinating Committee, Bicycle Pedestrian Advisory Committee, and the Transportation Coordination Committee to review security of the transportation systems.
READ MORE >>Livability Policy #5 - Enhance Programs & Activities
Many of the festivals, parades, and events that Parks and Recreation hold are in the same location each year. Events, festivals, parades, and the like are important in celebrating holidays, cultures, and community celebrations. These activities add to the livability of the city, attract tourists, and provide entertainment options that appeal to millennials, as well as people of all ages.
READ MORE >>Livability Policy #6 - Attract & Retain Young Professionals
In 2017, a survey titled “The Experience Movement: How Millennials are Bridging Cultural & Political Divides Offline” was conducted by Eventbrite and Harris Poll. It revealed that most millennials would rather spend their money on experiences or events than on tangible things. Millennials have a common fear of missing out on an enjoyable event or experience that others are having.
READ MORE >>Livability Policy #7 - Multimodal & Mixed-Use Community
Walkscore is a website that scores neighborhoods based on a formula that assesses a neighborhood’s walkability, bikeability, and multimodal service on a scale from 1 to 100. In reviewing local Lexington scores, some areas scored much higher in walk and bike scores than others.
READ MORE >>Livability Policy #8 - Promote Quality of Life
The design of a city, its public spaces, and public infrastructure have important correlations with quality of life, social development, and other key components of human wellbeing. Likewise, appealing cities are more likely to attract a creative, innovative, and skilled workforce, and the investments that are needed to drive the urban economy.
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Livability Policy #9 - Strategically Preserve Production Land
The creation of adaptive reuse regulations was an acknowledgment that many of Lexington’s older industrial zoned sites were no longer suited for modern economic development purposes. As those properties became vacant and dilapidated, it presented opportunities to support the urban core with businesses and residential options better suited for their urban environment.
READ MORE >>Diversity in Lexington’s population and workforce affords citizens the opportunity to learn from different viewpoints, experience other cultures, and supplement their weaknesses with others’ strengths. Diversity in an investment portfolio provides safety and security, knowing that, if one investment should falter, the others should be there to be the equalizing force to keep the overall performance meeting expectations. Similarly, diversity in Lexington’s employment opportunities and industry types offers a resiliency for the community. The city’s economy is comprised of many parts, and it is incumbent on policy makers and economic development professionals to ensure they pursue all angles. While it is critical to have large employers that serve as the bedrock on which the economy it is also crucial to prioritize assistance for small businesses. It is key to maintain a diversity in job opportunities while continuing to focus on adding high-paying jobs. Part of facilitating upward mobility is providing training and educational opportunities.
Diversity Policy #1 - Create Opportunities for Incubators
Lexington needs additional space to encourage more startup businesses, as well as for startups who have outgrown their original space. As new ventures, there are barriers that these young companies must overcome, such as a lack of credit and a need for mid-level space of about 1,000 square feet or larger.
READ MORE >>Diversity Policy #2 - Encourage a Diverse Economic Base
Unemployment is low in Lexington, but many jobs are concentrated in industries of less than average pay. When looking at the mix of employment in Lexington, excluding government jobs, the top three industries with the most employment were Healthcare and Social Assistance, Retail Trade, and Accommodation and Food Services.
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Diversity Policy #3 - Minority Business Enterprise Program
Minority, veteran, and women-owned businesses are underrepresented in Lexington, and the MBEP, as well as other agencies, are making efforts to help lessen this disproportion. From the Minority Business Enterprise Program (MBEP) webpage:
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Diversity Policy #4 - Encourage Workforce Inclusion
The Opportunity for Work & Learning (OWL) is a non-profit organization that has helped 26,000 people since 1961 to overcome mental and physical disabilities or prior incarceration to achieve growth in their personal, as well as professional lives.
READ MORE >>Diversity Policy #5 - Opportunity Zones
Established by Congress in 2017, the Opportunity Zones program allows investors in certain communities to qualify for preferential tax treatment. Communities that are eligible to become Opportunity Zones are in areas determined to be economically disadvantaged and must be nominated by the state.
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Diversity Policy #6 - Home Occupation Flexibility
The advances in communication and information technology, especially the impact of home computers and the internet, allow for more mobile businesses and working from home. Eliminating the commute to work, avoiding the cost of leasing or owning space for a business, and being near loved ones are among the reasons that make working from home attractive.
READ MORE >>Thriving communities achieve prosperous economies in a number of ways. A multifaceted approach is necessary, because local economies are complex with many moving pieces that each require different levels of attention and specifically tailored solutions. Attracting new businesses in a progressively more competitive market can be aided by federal, state or local incentives. While new business are drawn in, it is important that we also retain existing companies. Developing a highly-skilled workforce in a way that matches college and vocational school students’ curriculum to specific local employment needs would be mutually beneficial for the students, the employers, and the City. Being imaginative and creative with existing land and facilities can take many forms, including adaptive reuse, flexible parking arrangement, shared office space, redevelopment of underutilized property, and infinite other options. This will attract a young and enthusiastic workforce and continue to create a livable city with an interesting, unique, and authentic culture.
Prosperity Policy #1 - Hire & Recruit Local Residents
Hiring workers that live in the vicinity of a construction project builds a sense of ownership and empowerment in community development. It may also allow some workers to walk or bike to work. If there is a lack of training, working with local agencies and training programs to get workers trained before construction begins would increase economic sustainability of the area and its residents.
READ MORE >>Prosperity Policy #2 - Support Development & Infrastructure Funding
The Lexington-Fayette Urban County Council started an Economic Development Grant to help with “funding projects that will positively impact economic and workforce development in the City of Lexington.” The funding will be used for training/retraining, entrepreneurial support, employment re-entry, work-based learning and/or skills certification scholarships, and/or potentially other services rel
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Prosperity Policy #3 - Agriculture & Equine Industry
Before the beginning of the 21st century, with world-renowned soils and the risk of losing farmland to large lot residential and other development, Lexington started a Purchase of Development Rights (PDR) program. The program has been in existence for nearly 20 years, with PDR easements protecting farmland for food security and for conservation of environmentally sensitive lands.
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Prosperity Policy #4 - Fiber-Optic Broadband Infrastructure
Nearly every aspect of modern society is becoming increasingly web-dependent and, like the Interstate highway system connects communities, digital broadband infrastructure is essential for any 21st century community to thrive in areas of commerce, health, education, entertainment, and government.
READ MORE >>Prosperity Policy #5 - Farms & Farm Tours
VisitLex’s 2018 Visitors Guide and the VisitLex website are packed with information about attractions, accommodations, dining, tours, and events of all kinds, plus great maps, with one of them showing the locations of horse farms. The VisitLex website includes horse farms in both Fayette and other counties, which is beneficial for regional tourism.
READ MORE >>Prosperity Policy #6 - Kentucky Proud & Local Lexington Products
The Kentucky Department of Agriculture’s Kentucky Proud program is funded by the 1998 Tobacco Settlement. Registered members get marketing assistance, promotional materials at cost, grants opportunities, no-cost meat grading, international marketing, cost-share for wineries, veterans program, and restaurant reimbursements for using Kentucky Proud foods.
READ MORE >>Prosperity Policy #7 - Increase Networking Opportunities
As part of the Imagine Lexington process, staff met with representatives from many of the agency-types listed above to help inform the Plan’s recommendations. At the time, multiple stakeholders indicated that they would like to have regular meetings together to network, discuss, and brainstorm.
READ MORE >>Prosperity Policy #8 - Employ Local Graduates
Lexington has public and private post-secondary education institutions awarding thousands of degrees and certificates each year. Some of these graduates find jobs in their career fields in Lexington, some in other counties, some other states, etc.
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Prosperity Policy #9 - Utilize Vacant Office Space
According to several industry professionals in Lexington, there is a surplus of vacant professional office space. Reviewing NAI Isaac’s 2017 Market Report, the vacancy rate for office space is around 12%, with over a million square feet of available space throughout the urban service area. This is a significantly higher vacant rate than either industrial or retail.
READ MORE >>Prosperity Policy #10 - Flexible & Shared Parking
Parking demands operate on a peak and off-peak schedule depending on related land use.
READ MORE >>Prosperity Policy #11 - Industry Education & Training
One of Bluegrass Community and Technical College’s (BCTC) 45 programs of study is an Advanced Manufacturing Technician program, which prepares students for high-wage, high-demand manufacturing maintenance technician jobs. These students work part-time for their sponsoring employers, taking classes two days a week in mechanics, robotics, electricity, fabrication, and fluid power.
READ MORE >>Prosperity Policy #12 - Coldstream Research Campus
During the development of Imagine Lexington’s Goals & Objectives in 2017, amidst conversations with economic development professionals and a study of existing opportunities, a call was made for a publicly-controlled business park. In response to Theme C Goal 3, city officials worked with the University of Kentucky (UK) to execute a land swap addressing Lexington’s need for employment land.
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Prosperity Policy #13 - Farm Work, Technology, & Equipment
According to a 2017 report by Lynn Roche Phillips, PhD., AICP, and Priyanka Ghosh, PhD., University of Kentucky, Department of Geography, titled “Rural Land Use Inventory, Fayette County, Kentucky,” Lexington is utilizing 108,248 acres, or 86% of its Rural Service Area for agriculture.
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