New Bank's Downtown Plan Blocked

New bank's downtown plan blocked By Cameron Steele CornerStone Bank has suspended building plans for a corner lot in the heart of Lexington. The bank, which received its charter last month, wanted to lease the northeast corner of South Main and East Nelson streets for the construction of a three-story branch. Property Owner George Neofotis gave CornerStone the go-ahead, but it turns out the decision is not his to make. Fourteen years ago Neofotis gave the city the right to beautify his lot and put a historical marker there. David Grist, president and CEO of CornerStone, had hoped to use a part of that “right,” called an easement, to build one of the bank’s two drive-through lanes. But opponents of CornerStone’s construction plan have urged the city to use the easement as a way to stop the development. So far, they have succeeded. At the last Lexington City Council meeting, the bank withdrew its application to modify the easement.

CornerStone Bank wanted to lease this lot on the corner of South Main and East Nelson Streets in downtown Lexington.

“We’ve been patiently waiting to get approval to build on the easement,” Grist said. “We were asking the city to modify the easement where we need the drive-through to exit. We thought it would be simple.” But obtaining the approval necessary to build on the easement turned out to be far from simple. Resistance from Councilwoman Mimi Elrod ensured that the application would not get the “super majority” vote City Attorney Larry Mann advised was necessary for approval. Mann told city council that giving up an easement is equivalent to selling city land. State law requires the approval of at least three-fourths of the six council members. Councilman Frank Friedman recused himself from the vote because of a conflict of interest. That meant that all remaining five council members had to vote “Yes” for development to continue. And although Council Members Jim Gianniny and Tim Golden had expressed willingness to negotiate with the bank, Elrod was outspoken against building on the easement at an Aug. 22 meeting. “I support the bank, but that [the easement] is public property, and you don’t give away or sell public property unless the interest is for the common good,” Elrod said Friday.

Elrod is running for mayor in the November election. Neofotis wrote a letter to City Council that Mayor John Knapp read following CornerStone’s letter of withdrawal. “The difficulty the bank has encountered in obtaining the city’s cooperation in this matter has come as a shock to me,” Neofotis wrote. He said he would not let the issue drop. “I will be working on a plan to make the highest and best use of the property…. I would like to say that one thing I would never have there is a park.” That comment was aimed at the vision of the nonprofit group Friends of Lexington. Led by retired real-estate developer Jeff Williams, the group has a plan for the development of downtown Lexington that proposes transforming the corner of Nelson and Main into a city plaza surrounded by retail shops. Williams spoke against CornerStone’s building plan before City Council. “The problem is that it is a suburban site plan for an urban site,” said Williams. Elrod expressed similar concerns. Building the bank on the street corner could raise traffic problems and has the potential to block the view of the historic Lexington Presbyterian Church from walking tourists, Elrod says. As a result, Elrod thinks that if City Council allowed the bank to build on the easement, it could end up being more of a public nuisance than a public good. City Manager Jon Ellestad agreed. “I’m not opposed to locating the bank there, but we’re very concerned with the drive-through lane,” Ellestad said. The entrance to the drive-through would be located on Nelson Street, and Ellestad said he thinks that the lefthand turn entrance on Nelson could back cars up, easily jamming traffic all through downtown. But Grist believes that City Council is overlooking the benefits of the bank, most importantly the substantial business and associations that CornerStone could bring to Lexington. Elrod, who wants the bank to be in the city, suggested that a drive-through could be put in place behind the bank on Randolph Street, or that the bank give up the plan for on-site parking. “To me, a compromise would be willingness to set the bank back a little bit more [off of the easement,]” she said. Grist said the bank’s immediate concern is moving forward with the construction of the temporary site next to Don Tequila’s Restaurant a half mile away. He hopes the bank will be open there by the end of this year. Grist emphasized that CornerStone has several options in the city and in the county, though he would not reveal what those options were. The bank plans to move into a permanent building by the end of 2009. “I think there are a lot of misconceptions about us out there,” said Grist. “This [the Neofotis property] is still one of our favorite options.”