BEREA, Ky. (LEX 18) — Local officials from three counties gathered in Berea to celebrate a historic groundbreaking Thursday afternoon. The site is the future host of the Triple Crown Business Park.=
What makes the groundbreaking so significant? The 300-acre park is the result of officials from three counties coming together to form a joint authority to purchase and manage the park. Officials from Lexington-Fayette, Madison, and Scott Counties, as well as state representatives and the Berea mayor each took turns to share their enthusiasm for the project.
“This is the first public multi-county economic development project in central Kentucky,” said Lexington Mayor Linda Gorton said. “This is the result of all of our hard work and we're all super excited.”
“What we see throughout this three-county area and really throughout central Kentucky is people commute back and forth from all different counties. We have people come from 20 different counties to one of our industries here in Berea,” Mayor Bruce Fraley added. “I think it's impactful beyond just the city, but I'm excited that we're going to be creating those jobs here."
After a 10% hosting fee goes to the City of Berea, each of the three counties will receive 33% of the tax revenues.
“Young people, if they want to stay here, they're going to have good jobs that that they can get when they get out of high school or college, and that excites me,” Fraley added. “That's what we should be doing is creating economic opportunity for our children, for our grandchildren, and for future generations.”
Construction on the park’s infrastructure is expected to start in the fall, with 14 lots for businesses.
