Town Branch Park receives $1 million donation from UK Coach Matthew Mitchell

 “Jenna and I feel extremely blessed to call Lexington home,” he says. “We have received so much love and support from virtually every segment of the community and this is an opportunity for us to give back in a meaningful way.”

He adds, “Town Branch Park will be a place for people of all ages, backgrounds, and experiences to gather together and interact in a beautiful and dynamic space. That is a vision of Lexington we are proud to get behind.”

With this donation, the project is now a third of the way to the $31 million goal in private donations.

In honor of the Mitchells’ gift, the park will name the proposed hardscape plaza near the park entrance after them. The plaza will be a key location in the park, serving all members of the community with hundreds of free activities and classes.

Town Branch Park is one of two major components of Town Branch Commons, a transformative public-private linear park system that traces the historic Town Branch Creek through downtown.

Years in the making, Town Branch Commons officially broke ground in July of 2018. 

“The initial intent of why the city of Lexington is here is based on transportation,” says project manager Mike Sewell. “The Town Branch Commons project is hoping to reinvigorate and transform a modern city to get back to its roots.”

Town Branch Commons is designed to offer 22 miles of uninterrupted trail providing the downtown area with more green space, better pedestrian settings, and an improved environment. It will link the city’s two major trails, Town Branch Trail and the Legacy Trail. 

The next phase of construction for the downtown trail project is anticipated to begin in 2020.