KEY FINDINGS

Retail, Commercial & Service Market Analysis

• Several key submarkets and their trade areas were defined – neighborhood / visitors market, commercial services and retail based on their ability to compete with existing services, retail and other opportunities in the Lexington Metro.

• Rankings for the trade area factors (site and visibility, transportation network, physical / psychological barriers and competition) rank low for the site and will require significant improvements be made in order to attract the market.

• Commercial service market (10 minute drive) faces significant competition from Downtown and University areas, but will likely attract new businesses due to the unique appeal of the proposed library anchor.

• There is sufficient retail “leakage” to indicate an unmet demand for goods and services, but the site is unlikely to recapture this demand without significant improvements to the site and its surroundings.

• The neighborhood market alone is unlikely to support retail or commercial development of any scale. However, paired with the visitor market generated by Cardinal Hill Rehabilitation Hospital and the ability to pull cars off Versailles Road, there may be adequate demand to support new retail businesses.

• There are areas within the site that are better suited for retail and more traditional commercial uses (Versailles frontage) and those that are better suited for social services, commercial services and neighborhood-serving retail (interior of the site.)

• Youth, Hispanic and “at-risk” populations present the greatest opportunity for social and community services.

• The immediate area around Oxford Circle has one of the highest Hispanic populations in the Trade Area, over 6 times higher than in the County. Language and education services, as well as targeted outreach, is needed to serve this large concentration of Hispanic residents.

• Lower incomes, language barriers, limited access to transportation, substantial underserved youth population and a large percentage of households living in poverty provide justification for the development of a social and community serving “hub” in this location.