Massive 8-story, 825-bedroom apartment building approved near UK’s campus
The Lexington council on Thursday approved a new, 8-story student apartment complex near the University of Kentucky campus, across from another proposed 6-story complex geared to university students.
The Lexington-Fayette Urban County Council voted 14-1 Thursday to approve a zone change from residential and professional zones to a downtown business zone for 11 properties from 169 to 185 Maxwell Street and 245 to 277 Lexington Avenue.
Councilman Tyler Morton was the lone “no” vote.
The approval means in the coming years, East Maxwell Street between Martin Luther King Boulevard and Stone Avenue will have more than 500 new apartments. Stavroff Land and Development received final approval for another 238-unit, 6-story building in January.
Subtext, a St. Louis company that specializes in private student housing, plans to put a 307-unit apartment building on the latest rezoned property. It will have 825 bedrooms.
The building will be 8 stories on East Maxwell, with a pool on the second story in an interior courtyard. The building decreases to six stories, and then four stories along Lexington Avenue.
The Lexington Avenue side of the building also has units that can be accessed from the street. It will have parking on a lower level and on the ground floor. The ground floor will also have some retail. It will have 357 parking spaces.
Subtext made multiple design changes, including stepping down the height of the building, after hearing from neighbors before an April 24 Planning Commission zone change hearing.
“We are really happy with the design changes and feel like it turned out really well,” said Ryan Bumb, a development manager for Subtext, during the April 24 meeting.
Nick Nicholson, a lawyer for Subtext, said the comprehensive plan, which guides development in Lexington, stresses more density in downtown and near UK.
“It makes sense. It’s where the young professionals and students are,” Nicholson said during the planning commission meeting. “It is where it is most needed.”
Still, neighbors voiced concerns during the April meeting.
Rev. Matt Falco of Maxwell Presbyterian Church, which is across from the proposed development, said neighbors had concerns about parking and traffic.
“We are a 400-member congregation with daily activity,” Falco said. “There are moments when that intersection of East Maxwell and Lexington is backed up in both directions.” Lexington Avenue also connects to Avenue of Champions and Memorial Coliseum.
Falco said they aren’t opposed to the development, but the two projects will add hundreds of cars to an already congested area, he said.
Zak Leonard, historic preservation manager of the Blue Grass Trust, said there were multiple historic homes that will be razed to make room for the building. Some of those homes are historic for multiple reasons and are worth saving.
The commission ultimately voted 8-1 to approve the zone change and send it to the council.
Private student apartment market is booming
Stavroff has been issued demolition permits for the homes on East Maxwell to start construction on the first of the two buildings planned in that area. It’s not clear when construction will be completed on that building.
In all, the buildings will bring 545 new apartments to East Maxwell Street.
Developments by private apartment companies that cater to college students have been on the rise in Lexington. Two Hub properties — one on South Upper and a second on Virginia Avenue — have opened in recent years.
Subtext proposed a different student apartment complex on South Limestone in August, but that zone change was eventually voted down.
Homeowners in the neighborhoods close to UK have grumbled in recent years that the university’s enrollment surge has led to clusters of high-rise, private apartments around the state’s flagship university. UK’s student enrollment is expected to top 36,700 in the fall of 2025, a record number of students.
During the April 24 meeting, Planning Commissioner Frank Penn questioned when and why UK decided to push its housing into the private market and Lexington neighborhoods.
“It seems the university has decided its land is better used for other purposes (than housing),” Penn said. “My concern is that we do this the right way. If the university continues to grow, what do we need to do going forward so that we do this in a way that benefits the city and the university?”
Jay Blanton, a spokesperson for UK, said the university is investing in housing. The university does not have a requirement for students to live on campus, but students often do. Blanton said statistics show kids are more involved, get better grades and have better college experiences if they live on campus.
“We have more than 8,000 residence hall beds on campus currently and plan to open up nearly 650 more in fall 2026, where the Kirwan-Blanding complex was previously located,” Blanton said. “There has been a steady growth in beds over the past decade. Moreover, for fall 2024, about 85% of our first-year class lived on campus to open the term. That number — between 85% and 90% — has been consistent for a number of years,” Blanton said.
This story was originally published June 13, 2025 at 7:54 AM.
