By Jennifer Stolo, President & CEO, Christian Appalachian Project

Less than 72 hours.
 
That's about how much time participants on Commerce Lexington's Annual Leadership Visit spend immersed in another community. Yet somehow, those few whirlwind days often generate ideas, relationships, and insights that shape our own communities for years to come.
 
Last week, I had the opportunity to join nearly 150 other Kentucky business, nonprofit, education, and government leaders in Des Moines, Iowa, as part of Commerce Lexington's 2026 Leadership Visit. The itinerary was packed and the purpose straightforward: to learn from another community's successes, challenges, and vision for the future.
 
At first glance, Lexington and Des Moines appear to have much in common. Both are growing regional hubs with strong healthcare, education, agriculture, and business sectors. Both are communities that take pride in their quality of life, civic engagement, and commitment to economic development. Both are navigating questions around workforce development, housing, infrastructure, and long-term growth.

​For the third consecutive year, Commerce Lexington’s economic development efforts have been recognized among Business Facilities’ Economic Development Organization (EDO) Awards, which celebrate organizations that demonstrate exceptional leadership in fostering economic development, supporting workforce initiatives, and creating impactful projects across the nation. Commerce Lexington received recognition in the Large EDO Category (serving a region of 500,000+ population) for its Greater LEX Economic Development Awareness and Education Campaign.
 
In 2025, Commerce Lexington launched its first-ever fully digital economic development awareness and education campaign—a strategic, data‑driven initiative designed to ensure that Greater Lexington is heard, seen, and respected as a prime business location by the individuals who influence corporate growth decisions. Built to address outdated perceptions of Kentucky and elevate the region's standing among industry decision makers, the campaign represents a major step forward in how the organization communicates competitiveness, business readiness, and innovation.

Commerce Lexington, along with regional business and local government leaders, continue to advance the Regional Competitiveness Plan, a 5-year strategy launched in 2023 to support job creation and workforce growth across the nine-county region. With the assistance of Economic Leadership, LLC and its managing partner Ted Abernathy, Commerce Lexington and the Greater Lexington Inc. Board have released a progress report.
 
Although there is still much work to be done, the report shows that the collaborative efforts of public and private sector leaders across the region are producing positive trends for the 5-year strategy (2022-2027).  The action items are aimed at increasing jobs and workforce across the region through economic development, talent attraction and public policy initiatives.  Initially, the goal of the Regional Competitiveness Plan is to increase economic growth through additional investment in economic development and talent marketing efforts to key audiences, leadership development through events like the Annual Regional Summit and elevated advocacy for critical infrastructure investments and policy changes to improve the business climate.   

Whether just starting or looking to expand, small business owners need financing to make their dreams become reality. An outgrowth of Commerce Lexington’s intercity visit to Nashville in mid-2000, the organization teamed up with the area’s leading banks and financial institutions to create the Access Loan Program to help facilitate financing for small, minority-owned, and women-owned businesses. Twenty-five years ago, the first Access Loan recipient was Mulberry & Lime, a retail home furnishings and gifts shop, which is still located at 216 North Limestone.
 
Through the support of Commerce Lexington staff, the Kentucky Small Business Development Center, and many financial partners, the program improves the odds of small business owners getting approval for a loan that matches their needs.  With a first-year goal to approve $225,000 in loans back in 2001, the Access Loan Program far exceeded early expectations with $1.4 million in approved loans during its first nine months. Since its inception, the program has facilitated $27.1 million in loans for 136 small businesses across the region and grown to include 26 participating entities. 

This session, Commerce Lexington worked closely with and led community and regional partners to champion public-private investments with high-impact initiatives before members of the General Assembly. Following final passage of House Bills 500, 502, and 900 before the veto recess, lawmakers approved funding for several priority projects that will deliver significant benefits to the Greater LEX region.

​Overall, the General Assembly invested nearly $30 million to support Blue Grass Airport plan to reimagine and expand its terminal. This includes $19.9 million to launch the new terminal expansion, which will add airline gates and accommodate larger aircraft. The upgrades are expected to boost passenger capacity, attract more direct flights, increase regional traffic, and unlock new opportunities for economic development and tourism.

​For the third consecutive year, the Greater Lexington Region (Lexington-Fayette Metro) landed in the Top 10 of Site Selection magazine’s annual ranking of economic development activity in 2025 among Tier 2 regions between 200,000 and one million in population. The publication has published the Governor’s Cup rankings annually since 1988, based on new and expanded corporate facilities as tracked by the proprietary Conway Projects Database.
 
The Greater Lexington Region moved up from ninth to fourth with 27 total projects among the Tier 2 metros and finished sixth in projects per capita.  Statewide, 15 Kentucky micropolitan areas (10,000 to 50,000 people which cover at least one county) totaling 42 projects were recognized, including Greater Lexington micropolitan areas Richmond-Berea (#25), Frankfort (#40), and Mt. Sterling (#70).  Kentucky as a whole finished fifth for the second consecutive year nationally in projects per capita. In the South Central Region, the Commonwealth was second in projects per capita and third in total projects (182). 

The Lexington-Fayette Urban County Government's (LFUCG) General Government and Planning Committee recently received a presentation on the potential creation of a Development Liaison position designed to help streamline the city’s development process and accelerate housing projects.
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The proposal stems from recommendations included in the city’s 2023 Development Process Study, which found that some development projects in Lexington can take roughly twice as long to move through the local approval process compared to peer cities. The report identified improved coordination, clearer communication, and more consistent project navigation within local government as key opportunities to reduce delays.

By Keller Riede, Commerce Lexington Policy Intern 
​On Wednesday, March 4, nearly 60 business and community leaders from across the nine-county region gathered in Frankfort for Commerce Lexington’s Greater LEX Day at the Capitol in partnership with AT&T. This event provides a vital opportunity for policy experts, elected officials, and regional leaders to further connect during this legislative session and collaborate on key policy issues impacting the Lexington region.  

Several prominent members of the General Assembly addressed attendees including Majority Floor Leader Steven Rudy, Senator Amanda Mays Bledsoe, and Representative Josh Bray – sharing insights on the status of legislation and updates on the biennium budget planning that are currently underway. Their input provided valuable insight on policy developments that are affecting Lexington and the broader nine-county Greater LEX region. Priority issues for the region include policy and investments impacting housing affordability, childcare, talent attraction marketing, and job site readiness (KY Product Development Initiative).