Sept. 18–Origin, a new boutique hotel, is coming to The Summit at Fritz Farm.
Origin is from the Thrash Group, the same people who bought and restored the Campbell House before they sold it. Owner Ike Thrash said he hadn't planned to come back to Lexington but couldn't resist The Summit.
"The shopping center there is really unique," he said. "We love Lexington anyway, but if they hadn't built that shopping center we probably wouldn't have come back.
The Summit at Fritz Farm is a $156 million mixed-use development with top retail brands, new-to-market restaurants and condominiums.
Thrash plans to build a 120-room hotel on a site tucked at the back of the development, within walking distance of Honeywood by Ouita Michel, The Barn food hall and Whole Foods. Thrash said the land purchase has been completed, and ground-breaking on the $24 million project is expected to start in a few weeks.
Thrash Group is building four Origin hotels. The first, in Red Rocks, Colo., is to be finished in May, he said. Other Origin hotels are planned for Westminster, Colo., and Raleigh, N.C.
Origin Lexington should be completed in about 14 months, he said, possibly in time for the fall 2018 racing meet at Keeneland, where Thrash races and buys Thoroughbreds.
He predicted that his wife will want to set up a home base at The Summit: "When we come to Keeneland, she'll stay out there and never leave."
Janet Patton: 859-231-3264, @janetpattonhl
