340 apartments approved after Ball Homes reaches deal with opposing neighbors
A 10-building complex that includes 340 apartment units in the fast-growing Hamburg area got final approval Tuesday.
The Lexington-Fayette Urban County Council voted unanimously to approve a series of zone changes that would allow Ball Homes to build 10, three- and four-story apartments on approximately 25 acres at 6600 Man o’ War Boulevard.
The Urban County Planning Commission voted 7 to 2 to approve the zone changes at an Aug. 22 meeting, despite objections from many neighbors of the proposed development.
More than 1,000 people signed a petition opposing the zone change before the August meeting. The commission also received 53 letters opposing the development and more than a dozen neighbors urged the commission to turn down the request during a three hour and 30 minute public hearing.
The 25 acres is on Man O War Boulevard between Polo Club Boulevard and Blackford Parkway.
During the Tuesday hearing on the zone change, a representative of the Bradford Oaks subdivision told the council Ball Homes agreed to add additional pine trees to the portion of the development that borders the Bradford Oaks subdivision.
Mike Adkins, a property manager of the Bradford Oaks home owners association said the neighborhood board agreed to drop its opposition after Ball Homes agreed to the additional tree buffer.
No one spoke in opposition to the zone change during the Tuesday special council meeting.
Traci Wade, planning services manager, said the zone changes were largely to an expansion area residential zone. About two to three acres would remain community center zone.
The 25 acres was added to the urban service area —where development can occur — in 1996. In addition to the 10 three and four story apartments. the plans call for a three story mixed-use building that will have 16 apartments on the upper floors and more than 11,000 square feet of retail on the first floor. That building will be close to the main entrance on Man O War Boulevard and will be in the community center zone, which allows for mixed-use buildings.
The development also includes a club house and a pool, Wade said.
In addition to the apartments, Ball Homes also received initial approval Thursday from the Urban County Planning Commission for another development in that area. That proposed development on Polo Club Boulevard includes 80 homes and 78 townhouses.
It’s not clear when the council will vote on the proposed zone change for the Polo Club Boulevard development.
