Council approves letter of intent to sell 19.61 acres of Coldstream Research Campus to SFG Properties

The Lexington-Fayette Urban County Council on June 12 authorized a letter of intent with SFG Properties LLC for the sale of approximately 19.61 acres of the Coldstream Research Campus at about $225,000 per acre. City staff told council the total sale price is roughly $4,412,000 and that proceeds will be split 50/50 with the University of Kentucky.

Kevin Atkins, speaking for city staff, said the $4,412,000 price equates to about $225,000 per acre and that the revenue split with UK requires UK’s share to be spent on Coldstream improvements while the city’s share is earmarked for development of the planned Legacy Business Park. "The UK portion has to be spent on the Coldstream property and the improvements out there, and our half has to go toward the development of the 200 acre Legacy Business Park site," Atkins said.

Council discussion focused on the timing and process for bringing the sale before council. Council member Elliot Baxter moved to place the item on the docket for the meeting; the motion passed after questions about why the proposal had not appeared earlier in the council’s normal briefing sequence. Vice Mayor Wu and Council member Morton both asked about the walk-on timing and transparency; when Baxter later moved to place the item on the docket, council members voted to put it on the agenda (the motion carried with two members registering "no" votes when the item was first walked on).

Council members also noted the sale remains subject to customary review steps. Atkins said the project must still go through the Planning Commission, UK design-guidelines review for Coldstream, and other normal approvals; he also said the industrial authority had considered the proposal earlier the same day and endorsed it.

Procedural steps taken June 12

- Council member Elliot Baxter moved to place the SFG Properties letter of intent on the docket; the motion carried and the item was placed on the meeting docket. - The administration moved to suspend the rules and give immediate reading to the resolution and related documents for the sale; that suspension and reading were approved. - Council then approved a resolution authorizing the mayor or her designee to execute a letter of intent and to take steps toward a purchase-and-sale agreement with SFG Properties LLC. The council vote carried; multiple council members recorded "no" votes during the process when the item was walked on and during roll calls.

What the agreement would allow and next steps

The approved resolution authorizes a letter of intent and directs the mayor or her designee to execute a purchase-and-sale agreement in a final form approved by the Department of Law and to take related actions necessary to transfer the property. Atkins emphasized that additional approvals remain: planning and engineering reviews, university design-guideline review, and any agreements required by the industrial authority’s oversight role.

Why it matters

The sale would move a portion of the Coldstream Research Campus into private ownership for a last-mile distribution-style operation that staff said would focus on grocery and pharmacy delivery. City staff said the sale proceeds are intended partly to fund improvements at Coldstream and partly to fund development at the Legacy Business Park site, a major long-term economic-development objective for the city.

Votes and recorded opposition

Council approved the sale authorization on June 12. The transcript records recorded opposition during the walk-on and approval steps: Vice Mayor Wu and Council member Morton registered no votes when the item was initially walked on, and later roll-call entries in the record show at least one additional "no" vote on the final reading. The resolution nevertheless carried and the city will proceed to required planning and design reviews before closing or project-level approvals.