‘Enough is enough’: Planning commission rejects 7-story apartment near UK
A Lexington planning body on Thursday rejected an application for a seven-story student apartment complex near the University of Kentucky amid concerns from residents in the historic Black neighborhood.
The Urban County Planning Commission voted 5 to 4 to deny zone changes to more than a dozen properties on South Limestone, Prall and Montmullin streets that would have cleared the way for the new, 800-bedroom student housing complex.
But the fight is likely not over yet.
The zone changes now go to the Lexington-Fayette Urban County Council, which could vote to overturn the commission’s decision. A date for that vote has not been set.
Planning commission members said Thursday they were torn.
The city’s comprehensive plan, which guides development and outlines locations for certain types of projects, calls for increased density along the city’s major corridors. But the seven-story building would be detrimental to what’s left of nearby Pralltown, a historic Black neighborhood created in the mid-1800s, neighbors said.
Pralltown was the home of former Los Angeles Dodgers player Lou Johnson and Tee Dee Young, one of Lexington’s most famous musicians. But much of the once-thriving neighborhood has been taken over by student housing.
Planning Commissioner Frank Penn voted to turn down the zone change.
“At some point, the city has to say to the University of Kentucky: ‘We can’t continue to build your housing,’” Penn said. “I want to say to UK: ‘Enough is enough.’”
But other commission members noted the city is facing a housing shortage. A recent study showed it needed more than 22,000 housing units.
“There is a reason why there is a housing shortage: Because we make it so difficult to build housing,” said Graham Pohl, who voted for the zone change.
Major changes, including donations to affordable housing fund
As part of the project, developers are seeking to tear down several buildings in the area, including retail shops that face South Limestone.
The planning commission’s decision to reject the zone changes on Thursday came after it delayed a vote at its September meeting. The commission said then it wanted more information and wanted St. Louis-developer Subtext, which has developed private college housing in other states, to meet with neighbors.
Neighbors have raised concerns about the height of the building, traffic and parking. Many urged the commission at the Sept. 26 meeting to protect the neighborhood and deny the zone change.
City planners recommended the city approve the zone change at both the Sept. 26 and Thursday meeting, saying it would provide much-needed housing along a major corridor.
Mitch Korte, executive vice president of Subtext, said the developers and neighborhood representatives met twice since the September meeting, and Subtext agreed to decrease the height of the building from 102 feet to 82 feet. It also agreed to lower the height of the rear of the building from six to five stories, increase setbacks from surrounding properties and change the design to create more retail space for businesses such as coffee shops, restaurants and barber shops.
“We are also talking to some of the current tenants to see if they want to come back into the project,” Korte said.
Additionally, developers agreed to decrease the number of parking spaces at the complex and monitor street parking so student parking doesn’t spill into surrounding neighborhoods.
“We will have professional on-site management,” Korte said. The current landlords of the student housing the apartment complex will replace are absentee landlords and don’t monitor parking.
Developers agreed to provide $1.5 million to the city’s affordable housing fund to create more affordable housing units. Residents had requested 15 units in the complex be affordable, but Korte said the affordable housing fund would be able to create more affordable housing units with the $1.5 million.
“We’ve almost always ended up at a contribution, because they can take those dollars and leverage them,” Korte said. Korte said they have put affordable units in other projects but found that they can be difficult to lease because many people don’t want to live in a complex that is predominately students.
Subtext has also agreed to donate $150,000 to the city of Lexington for various upgrades to nearby Lou Johnson Park.
The proposed development, called Verve Lexington, calls for 800 bedrooms in 239 apartments and 359 parking spots.
It would have an interior courtyard, and the rooftop would have a patio and a pool.
‘This is major gentrification on steroids’
Bruce Simpson, a lawyer for the Pralltown neighborhood, said the problem with the building is its location: Neighbors don’t want it.
UK is not building enough housing on campus, he said, so it’s allowing private developers to destroy surrounding neighborhoods.
“It’s only a matter of time before the next one comes along,” Simpson said. The developers’ proposed changes didn’t address neighborhood concerns.
“This project represents a dangerous precedent,” Simpson said. Simpson said there is nothing in the city’ s comprehensive plan that said a developer can write checks to push a zone change forward.
“The fact that the applicant offers $1.5 million and $150,000 is legally impermissible,” Simpson said.
Simpson said neighbors are still concerned about the lack of parking at the property. Simpson said he also doesn’t think Subtext can police students from parking on nearby streets.
“This is major gentrification on steroids,” Simpson said. “If you do this, you are advancing Pralltown’s extinction.”
Nick Nicholson, a lawyer for Subtext, said all of the properties the development will replace are student housing. Many of those properties are not historic, but were built or modified in the 1980s and 1990s.
“We are not trying to target any community,” Nicholson said.
Nicholson also said other developers have made improvements and contributions to funds as part of zone changes in the past, and Subtext was not making them in an attempt to get the zone change through.
Residents say development would destroy Pralltown
Teresa Forbes Lopez, a long-time resident, said the neighbors are not in agreement with the changes.
Forbes Lopez said the development will extinguish what’s left of Pralltown.
Other neighbors said they had concerns because so many people already park illegally on their property.
Larry Price of Montmullin Street said he doesn’t mind progress or change. Price said the development would destroy what’s left of Pralltown.
“Whatever neighborhood you come from, think if they were doing that to your neighborhood,” Price said.
Walt Gaffield, president of the Fayette County Neighborhood Council, said Lexington has a long history of eliminating Black neighborhoods.
The city’s comprehensive plan emphasizes equity, he said, but does not actually address inequality or protect historic Black neighborhoods.
“Planning documents talk about equity and equitable development,” Gaffield said. “Planning staff and the planning commission really need to pay attention to that point.”
This story was originally published October 25, 2024 at 11:12 AM.
