A free public parking lot being constructed on the site of the old Peter Postell building at Sixth and Virginia streets could be completed by mid-summer.
That’s assuming there are no significant weather delays or other unforeseen problems, said Holly Boggess, Downtown Renaissance director.
The lot, combined with an adjacent parcel at Fifth and Virginia, will provide 29 parking spaces.
The Postell building was destroyed in a fire on July 6, 2016. It was named for the original owner, a former slave in Christian County who built a grocery store after the Civil War and eventually became one of the wealthiest black men in South.
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At the time of the fire, the building was vacant. The owners – Cayce Brothers, and Hicks and Demps Properties – sold the lot in December 2017 to the Local Development Corp. for $55,000. However, the price included a $10,000 charitable donation from the owners to the LDC, so the agency paid $45,000.
The other lot on Fifth Street was sold several years earlier to the Hopkinsville-Christian County Landbank Authority, which is another public agency involved in improvement projects. It was valued at $20,000, but the owners gave it to the Landbank Authority for $1.
“It is our plan to develop the space for free public (customer) parking; however, we will be requesting that employees of surrounding businesses not utilize the space,” Boggess said.
After digging down several feet to the Postell building’s old stone foundation, a construction crew began filling the lot with rocks last week.
The final design layout is pending, Boggess said. The plan includes lighting and landscaping to complement the retail hub on Sixth Street.
The new lot will provide close parking for the shops on and near Sixth Street and to the Hopkinsville Brewing Co. on Fifth Street. It’s expected Alhambra Theatre patrons will also use the lot.
Jennifer P. Brown is co-founder, publisher and editor of Hoptown Chronicle. You can reach her at editor@hoptownchronicle.org. Brown was a reporter and editor at the Kentucky New Era, where she worked for 30 years. She is a co-chair of the national advisory board to the Institute for Rural Journalism and Community Issues, governing board past president for the Kentucky Historical Society, and co-founder of the Kentucky Open Government Coalition. She serves on the Hopkinsville History Foundation's board.
