Lexington, KY - After a rocky start to 2012 with the firing of its executive director and hiring of an interim successor, Explorium of Lexington has been working to rebound with a program expansion and rising attendance numbers. But the downtown family and school group destination and program center is operating without a lease at Victorian Square, raising concerns about its future there. That concern takes on more gravity as the new owners of Victorian Square, The Webb Companies, in partnership with Jeffrey R. Anderson Real Estate of Cincinnati, plan big changes that include the Explorium’s exit.
“The museum had a tough spot at the beginning of the year,” said Tim Davis, Chairman of Explorium’s Board of Directors. That tough spot followed a Herald-Leader article raising questions about the organization’s personnel practices, board membership, nepotism, adherence to open-meetings laws, funds due to the government and general operational issues. The museum, it was reported, was then in arrears to the city to the tune of about $291,000.
Last February, executive director Michael Gilmore was fired. Lee Ellen Martin, who years earlier had been associate director there, returned to the Explorium, a 501 (c)(3) non-profit, as interim executive director to navigate the facility through rough waters. “She has done a tremendous job expanding revenue stream and has put us in a solid financial position,” Davis said.
Martin said discussions with LFUCG officials are underway and the financial issue is close to resolution. The talks were confirmed by Susan Straub, Director of Communications in the office of Mayor Jim Gray. “We are meeting with representatives of the Explorium to discuss their situation.”
Martin has overseen the enhancement of the 24,000 square foot museum’s physical assets and the improvement and expansion of programs. Membership and participation at the Explorium have risen. Data shows that visits are up by more than 15,000 compared to the prior year. That included visitors from 114 Kentucky Counties, 45 states and a few foreign countries. “It shows that this board and staff are really interested in developing this as a great public asset in Fayette County,” said Davis.
Now, however, Explorium’s future is in doubt as it waits to see what happens with its tenancy at Victorian Square.
“The Explorium was discussing a long-term lease with the previous owners, when this process was interrupted by the sale of Victorian Square,” said Martin. “We are very interested in keeping Victorian Square as our home, and look forward to finalizing a long-term lease with the new owners.”
Martin said soon after the sale and on the advice of Webb Companies Vice President Ken Michul, she placed a call to Mark Fallon, the Cincinnati-based Anderson Real Estate executive who manages leasing. The call was never returned.
“The agreement of our partnership (with the Webb Companies) is that the day-to-day operations, discussions and any correspondence or conversations while we formulate our redeveloping and re-tenanting of the entire project would be handled by the Webb Company. They’re dealing with existing tenants while I’m focusing on the big picture and what Victorian Square will become,” said Fallon, Vice President of Real Estate, Jeffrey Anderson Real Estate.
Fallon said Jeffrey Anderson Real Estate was notified by its partners that the tenant did not plan to renew.
“With that,” Fallon continued, “our partners notified us that we have a vacancy there, and I’ve gone ahead and am in active negotiations with a replacement tenant for that, as well as some other spaces within the project. Once they proactively told us they did not have an interest in staying, we didn’t second guess their judgement or assume they were kidding or posturing and so we moved forward and made plans for them to exit comfortably and we are actively working on securing a replacement for the space. So, that horse is out of the barn.”
However, former Urban County Council member Doug Martin, now an attorney in private practice and husband of Explorium director Lee Ellen Martin, said attempts had been made to communicate to the developers that the children’s museum would like to remain in Victorian Square under a long-term lease.
“After the sale I reached out to Ken Michul to invite a conversation between their Cincinnati partner and the Lexington Explorium,” he said. “In that conversation, I emphasized that the Explorium wants to be a long-term resident and partner at Victorian Square and that I believed that the Explorium would do whatever it took to be a long-term partner there. And I have since had that conversation with Mr. Dudley Webb.”
Woodford Webb, president of The Webb Companies, said that the Explorium’s lease at Victorian Square is currently under evaluation.