Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

The city of Wilmore has had a few updates this past month including major project updates.

Granary project

According to the Wilmore Newsletter by Wilmore Council member David R. Riel, the Wilmore City Council has approved a contractor and designer to begin phase two of the restoration project of the Granary Building. 

The previous phase completed in 2020 included the “removal and replacement of the existing roof over the three-story portion and the one-story northeastern portion of the building, the removal and reconstruction of the clerestory and limited structural stabilization of the third floor,” stated the newsletter. 

The upcoming second phase will include additional structural stabilization, basement water mitigation, new concrete flooring, and some electrical improvement. It will also address temporary window and door openings and the exterior facade of the Granary.

According to the Jessamine Journal’s August report on the Wilmore city budget for 2025-2026, the city received $750,000 from a Federal Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) applied for in 2022 for phase two of the Granary project. 

The Kentucky Heritage Council reviewed the project, and the Wilmore City Council accepted Structural Systems Repair Group’s bid and authorized the mayor to sign the contracts on December 30, 2024. 

The design team is Stewart Architecture, PLLC of Lexington, KY.  

According to Mayor Harold Rainwater, the Granary project is set to begin in the spring. 

Improvements to Wilmore’s Main Street are also set to start in the spring. According to reporting from the Jessamine Journal in 2022, the Wilmore city council allocated $250,000 to fund improvements to Main Street. In March 2023, the city council voted to contract the project to Banks Engineering. 

Downtown improvement

After working with city officials, Banks Engineering presented the changes planned for downtown Main Street in 2023, including:

• Differently patterned pavement at intersections to bring a unifying element of downtown that will “break up the concrete” and indicate to vehicles that pedestrians will be crossing in those areas.  
• Less parallel parking with wider sidewalks. 
• Possibly adding street trees on these wider sidewalks. (Because the previous street trees were too close to buildings to thrive.) 
• Creating small “pocket parks” by eliminating or decreasing the size of vehicular access points between Subway, the bank, and other areas would also make getting around easier for pedestrians.  
• For Rice Street’s traffic and parking issues, one designer suggested adding parking spots to Drinkling’s lot. 
• Main Street and Lexington Avenue are both state roads, so Banks Engineering must approve any final plans with the Kentucky State Highway Department.   

The contract for the project was awarded on December 23, 2024 to MS Concrete, LLC, from Elkhorn City, Kentucky.

According to Wilmore City Clerk Donna Back, the official scope of work for phase I will include the removal and replacement of approximately 1,000 square yards of concrete sidewalks and entrances, 9 decorative streetlights, 940 linear feet of underground conduit, and limited curb and gutter replacement.