$60 million shopping plaza with grocery, restaurants planned for Citation Boulevard

Two Lexington developers have purchased a 28-acre tract in a fast-growing part of northwest Lexington and plan to build a $60 million shopping complex on the site.

The Webb and Greer companies, which also developed City Centre in downtown Lexington, announced Thursday they had purchased land at the corner of Citation Boulevard and Georgetown Road for $10 million from the estate of William Gatton, a long-time philanthropist with strong ties to the University of Kentucky.

The planned development, called Citation Centre, will include a grocery store, pharmacy, fast-food and sit-down restaurants, professional office space and medical offices, according to a press release.

The companies said the tenants of the new project will announce “in coming weeks” their intent to locate to the new shopping plaza.

The area of Georgetown and Citation has seen rapid growth in recent years. Residents in the area have long complained about a lack of grocery stores and other amenities in the largely residential area.

“The demographics in that area have changed so much,” said Dudley Webb, of the Webb Companies. “It’s one of the most under-served areas in our community.”

Webb said the parcel is already zoned for a shopping area and a zone change is not needed. The Webb and Greer companies will have to file a development plan, which is in the works, Webb said.

Construction will likely take between 18 and 24 months, he said. No economic incentives will be needed to develop the new shopping plaza, Webb said.

The property was once part of a lawsuit between Gatton and the Haymaker Development Company. In the lawsuit, Haymaker argued that there’s an ongoing agreement between Haymaker and Gatton regarding the development of land purchased in the Hamburg area and at the intersection of Georgetown Road and Citation Boulevard. A Gatton attorney said the land in question belongs solely to Gatton, and there’s no documented agreement that said Gatton has to sell that land to Haymaker for development.

A federal judge ruled in February that Gatton owned the land and did not have to continue to work with Haymaker to develop the land.