U-Haul storage building on Leestown Road collapses

More than a dozen Lexington Fire Department units responded to a building collapse on Leestown Road Tuesday afternoon.

Part of the U-Haul storage facility on Leestown Road at Citation Boulevard collapsed at around 2:15 p.m. Tuesday, according to the Lexington Fire Department.

No one was injured, according to the Lexington Fire Department.

“I was actually on the phone with my best friend and I heard him scream,” Michele Johnson, 51, who witnessed the incident with her 12-year-old son Jon, said. “I turned around I was kind of irritated. I said ‘What?’ And he goes, ‘the building,’ so I looked and I saw the rest of it collapse.”

Lexington Fire Department Maj. Jordan Saas said the building was condemned after the collapse and would be torn down.

Some people were inside when the collapse occurred, but the storage business was not operational yet, he said.

The part of the building that collapsed was approximately 100 by 150 feet and 35 feet tall, he said.

As of Wednesday afternoon, a cause for the collapse has not been determined, according to a U-Haul spokesperson.

“Investigators are looking into what caused the ceiling to yield,” said Jeff Lockridge, manager of media and public relations for U-Haul. “The facility will be closed until further notice.”

U-Haul does intend to repair the collapsed portion of the building, Lockridge added.

The building previously was a headquarters and production facility for Big Ass Fans.

The building sits on 5.83 acres at 2425 Merchant Street. The property last sold for $4.85 million in August 2018, according to Fayette County Property Valuation Administrator’s records.

Inbound Leestown Road had reopened by about 4:45 p.m.

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This story was originally published August 6, 2019 at 2:35 PM.