OPPORTUNITY HUB CONCEPT

The Opportunity Hub concept employs a holistic approach to community empowerment by layering traditional social services with improved quality of life, access to economic opportunities and improved health and wellness options. While not all of these objectives will be met by each Opportunity Hub, the services and offerings should reflect the current and future needs of the community it serves.

The concept of recasting Oxford Circle as an “Opportunity Hub” effectively repositions the area to better serve the current and future needs of the residents of Cardinal Valley and beyond. The Small Area Plan began to identify those changing needs and the market analysis helped pinpoint both the growing need and the lack of available, easy to access programming. As part of the Oxford Circle redevelopment effort a conscious, thoughtful community engagement process is needed to fully flush out the services that would best serve the adjacent communities.

From interviews with the Lexington Public Library and other key stakeholders in the area, the library is already acting as a de facto community center, providing a variety of social and educational services to its patrons. Those services paired with the existing, and planned expansion of Community Action Council programming, require a level of partnership and communication between the two key anchors. This early engagement will ensure each organization’s programming does not duplicate, but instead complements the other’s offerings.