BEREA, Ky. — Officials from Lexington, Scott County, Madison County and Berea broke ground Thursday on the Triple Crown Business Park, described as the first public, multi-county economic development project in Central Kentucky, according to the City of Lexington Mayor's Office.

The groundbreaking ceremony took place at 1604 Farristown Industrial Drive in Berea, bringing together Mayor Linda Gorton, Scott County Judge-Executive Joe Pat Covington, Madison County Judge-Executive Reagan Taylor, and Berea Mayor Bruce Fraley, along with state and federal representatives including Senior Advisor to Governor Andy Beshear Rocky Adkins.

The 300-acre park secured $2 million in federal funding from Congressman Andy Barr in February 2026 to support site preparation and critical infrastructure improvements. The Central Kentucky Business Park Authority will purchase and manage the park, with all four partners giving final approval after 20 months of development.

The park will be divided into 14 lots for businesses. After a 10% hosting fee is allocated to the City of Berea, each of the three counties will receive 33 percent of the tax revenues created by the park, according to statements from the Mayor's Office.

"This is an exciting day," Mayor Gorton announced. "When Central Kentucky's economy is strengthened, we all benefit. We are opening doors to economic opportunity for hundreds of Central Kentucky residents, and providing new tax revenue that will allow governments to make improvements."

The business park's founders anticipate the Berea location will attract between 700 to 1,200 jobs once fully built out over the next decade. Construction of the park's infrastructure is expected to begin this fall, according to the Mayor's Office.

Berea Mayor Bruce Fraley said the groundbreaking represents significant progress following years of work. "While we had many hurdles to overcome along that two-year path, the governmental executives, Judge Covington, Mayor Gorton, Judge Taylor, and I were committed to the concept of regionalism in economic development," Fraley said.