Planning commission approves 8‑story mixed‑use student housing project on East Maxwell after hours of testimony

The Lexington Urban County Government Planning Commission voted to approve a zone change and a development plan Sept. 25 for a large mixed‑use residential project proposed along East Maxwell between Rose and Stone streets.

Planning staff introduced the application as submitted by CS Acquisition Vehicle LLC/Core Spaces, asking to rezone roughly a two‑acre block from R‑4 (medium‑density residential) to B‑2A (downtown frame business) and to allow construction of a high‑density residential building with internal parking. Jeremy Young, senior planner, told commissioners the applicant proposes roughly 322 units, 436 parking spaces and about 200 bicycle parking spaces in a structure that would step between about 63 feet and 85 feet in height. Young said staff believes the proposal meets the comprehensive plan’s downtown place‑type guidance and recommends approval with conditions, including a minimum density of 100 dwelling units per acre and several conditional‑use restrictions to bar automobile sales, drive‑throughs and similar uses inappropriate for the Maxwell corridor.

Why it matters: The site sits directly between the University of Kentucky campus and downtown, and commissioners and the public debated tradeoffs between adding hundreds of new housing units near transit and preserving an intact block of 1920s multifamily buildings that historically contributed to a town‑and‑gown streetscape.

Commission and staff discussion focused on massing, tree canopy and how the new building would step down next to the H‑1 historic overlay. John Mickler, commissioner, asked the historic preservation director, Betty Kerr, to explain the block’s significance; Kerr said the block is part of the Southeast Lexington area listed on the National…