Former Bluegrass Stockyards site has a new owner. What happens to historic McConnell house?
Kentucky Utilities received approval Thursday for a development plan that would allow it to build a new 70,000 square foot building for offices and a operations center on the site of the former Bluegrass Stockyards on Lisle Industrial Avenue.
The Urban County Planning Commission approved plans during a Thursday meeting but with the condition that KU work with preservationists to ensure the future of a 1785 stone home that was once owned by William McConnell, one of the founders of Lexington and gave the city its name.
“McConnell House is one of the oldest stone houses in the area,” said Tom Martin, a planner with the city.
The Bluegrass Stockyards occupied the property for years and used the home as an office. A devastating fire in 2016 destroyed the stockyards but the McConnell House was spared. It has been vacant since 2016.
KU does not plan to use the house but will make repairs to the exterior structure, including replacing windows and putting on a historically-appropriate roof, KU officials said during Thursday’s meeting.
The planning commission has little say over historic structures on properties, Martin said. But the commission can put a note on the development plan encouraging KU to work with preservationists to maintain the property.
KU officials said they may remove a non-historical addition at the back of the home and also said they are open to selling the property if someone wants to take it over.
Planning Commissioner Zach Davis said he has spoken with staff at the Kentucky Trust for Historic Preservation who have said they would be interested in taking over the home.
Maintaining old homes is not easy, said Davis, who is a real estate agent.
“It’s a love affair because it’s illogical,” Davis said of maintaining older homes.
William McConnell first came to Lexington in 1774 and set up a small encampment at what is now McConnell Springs, not far from where the McConnell House currently sits. McConnell named the new settlement Lexington after hearing from settlers at Fort Boonesboro about the start of the American Revolution and the battle of Lexington and Concord.
The home was listed on the National Registry of Historic Places in 1983.
McConnell’s stone home was likely built in 1785 and was originally constructed in Virginia, according to Family Tree Nuts, a genealogy group.
In addition to the 70,000 square foot new building on the property, which will have an entrance on Lisle Industrial Avenue, KU will also have various storage buildings on the site, according to the development plans.
