Fayette Alliance hosts student gallery on vacant land reuse in Lexington

Community Innovation Partner, Fayette Alliance hosted a gallery reception on Friday, Dec. 5, as part of Reimagine Lexington, a project that asks University of Kentucky students to propose new uses for vacant spaces across the city.

The event, held Dec. 5 at the UK Cornerstone, displayed student work focused on redeveloping empty lots into uses such as parks, gathering spaces, cafés and other public areas.

Students used a range of mediums, including paintings, 3D models, poetry and digital art, to present their concepts.

According to Fayette Alliance, the project is intended to inform broader conversations about land use and redevelopment in Lexington by engaging students, planners and residents.

“Lexington has nearly 5,000 acres of vacant or undeveloped land inside the Urban Services Boundary, enough to accommodate growth for years to come,” said Ethan Wallace, education and community engagement manager for Fayette Alliance. “Converting that land into homes, parks, jobs and other uses that serve residents requires an incredible amount of creativity.”

Reimagine Lexington is part of an ongoing effort to examine how underused land can support future growth and community needs.

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The Community Innovation Partnership is an initiative of the University of Kentucky Office of Economic Development and Real Estate that supports idea-sharing, events and programs focused on innovation, creativity, technology, entrepreneurship and economic development in the Cornerstone. The partnership works to elevate the role of community organizations and nonprofits within the university’s innovation ecosystem. As part of this effort, the UK establishes a formal partnership each academic year with a different community organization to support collaborative programming.