Demolition of downtown block to start soon for student apartments near UK
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Demolition permits were filed April 30; reviews must occur first.
- The Verve will be an 8‑story student apartment building with 275 units.
- Subtext plans construction this summer and expects the Verve to open by summer 2028.
Developers have applied for a demolition permit for a block of homes and buildings on East Maxwell Street and Lexington Avenue.
The permits are for 245, 251, 257, 261, 267, 271 and 275 Lexington Ave. and 185, 175 East Maxwell St., roughly a block of homes and apartments that must be razed to make room for the Verve, a new 8-story student apartment complex that will include 784 bedrooms.
The building will be 460,136 square feet with 275 units with one-to-four bedroom layouts, developers have said. The building will also have 15,000 square feet of outdoor space, including a second-floor terrace with a pool and clubhouse.
In April, Subtext, the developer, said construction will begin this summer.
The demolition permits were filed April 30. The applications must be reviewed by multiple city departments before demolition can begin. That typically takes about 30 days after the permit is filed.
Subtext, a St. Louis-based developer, has said the private apartments geared toward University of Kentucky students should be open by the summer of 2028.
The Subtext property is the latest multi-story apartment complex to be built on East Maxwell Street. Construction has started on a 6-story apartment complex on East Maxwell between Stone and Lexington Avenue. The Stavroff Land and Development’s proposal includes 238 units.
A third, 8-story apartment complex by Core Spaces, which develops the HUB student apartment complexes, was proposed at the corner of East Maxwell and Rose Streets. However, the Lexington-Fayette Urban County Council denied the zone change request in November 2025 after neighbors and others said that was too many apartments in less than six blocks.
