KY developer buys part of block near UK campus. The area is seeing an apartment boom
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Diversified Properties LLC purchased 319–333 S. Limestone for $5 million.
- Owner plans no changes to existing buildings or current commercial tenants.
- Area faces ongoing student housing redevelopment with multiple new towers.
Part of a block that includes the former Two Keys Tavern building near the University of Kentucky’s campus recently sold to a Louisville company, according to Fayette County property records.
Diversified Properties LLC of Louisville purchased the buildings between 319 and 333 S. Limestone Oct. 30 for $5 million, according to Fayette County Property Value Administration records.
Aaron Hill of Diversified Properties LLC said the buildings will not be torn down.
“There are no plans to change anything with the buildings or the tenants,” Hill said.
The buildings at 329 and 333 S. Limestone includes The Hill, a bar that for 66 years was the home of Two Keys Tavern. The other buildings include 327 S. Limestone, which houses Signature Wine and Liquor, and 319 S. Limestone, The Paddock, another bar.
Two Keys Tavern moved to 385 S. Limestone but later closed.
Many properties near UK’s campus have been sold in recent years to make way for private, multi-story student apartments. On East Maxwell Street, multiple properties have been purchased and are in the process of either being turn down or slated for demolition.
In January, Stavroff Land and Development received final approval for a 238-unit, six-story building on East Maxwell Street, between Stone Street and Lexington Avenue. That building, geared to UK students, is under construction. Subtext, a St. Louis company, received final approval to build an eight-story apartment building on East Maxwell and Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard in September.
A zoning change for a third student apartment complex in the same area on East Maxwell Street will be heard by the Lexington-Fayette Urban County County at 5 p.m. Wednesday. The Urban County Planning Commission voted 8-2 to approve the switch from residential to a business zone in September for the HUB, an eight-story, 325-unit apartment complex.
This story was originally published November 18, 2025 at 4:45 AM.
