Kentucky County Seats: Lexington
Having lived in the
Lexington, Kentucky (Lexington-Fayette Urban County, LFUCG) for five years, I grew to appreciate the city that was growing at the seams. The
Horse Capital of the World is home to not only the University of Kentucky - the commonwealth's flagship university, but also Big Ass Fans, and for a young college student, that was enough for me.
But during my time, having lived in the dormitories, suburban apartments and then in the center of the city, I watched Lexington boom. A lot of this growth was concentrated in the suburban fringes, but a surprising amount of development was proposed and constructed in and around downtown. From
It's important to note that Lexington enacted the nation's first urban growth boundary in 1958, where concentrated development could only occur within the Urban Service Area (USA). The Rural Service Area (RSA) had a minimum lot size set at 10 acres, which later increased to 40 acre minimums in 1999 after rural 10-acre subdivisions began appearing in the RSA. The subdivisions were incompatible with the exiting agricultural uses and harmed the image of Lexington's trademark - it's sprawling horse farms and scenic byways, not sprawling subdivisions and paved cul-de-sacs.
A comprehensive plan was adopted by LFUCG in 1973 that set forth development guidelines for the city, and amended in 1980 to include Urban Activity Centers and Rural Activity Centers, the latter focusing on interstate interchange businesses such as fueling stations.
To aid the preservation of the open space further, the LFUCG adopted the
Purchase of Development Rights (PDR) plan, which granted LFUCG the power to purchase the development of exiting farms. In 2001, $40 million was allocated to the plan - $25 million in local funding and $15 million in state grants. In addition, farmers can donate their land to the city for the PDR program. The goal is to preserve 50,000 acres in the RSA, and as of 2013, 237 farms totaling more than 26,866 acres are now protected. PDR is now at 54% of its overall goal.
I should represent Lexington more - a backlog of years of photographs awaits. But for now, I'll start with what is most accessible and cover the highlights beginning with the former
Fayette County Courthouse at 215 West Main Street. The courthouse was the fifth courthouse structure in the county and the third on the site.
Fayette County was one of the three original counties that at one point comprised the district of Kentucky. Formed in 1780 from Kentucky County, Virginia, Fayette was named in honor of General Gilbert Mortier de La Fayette, a French Marquis who provided assistance during the American Revolution. He made a notable visit to Fayette County in May 1825.
The first courts were held in a small cabin within the stockade in late 1781. A two-story courthouse constructed of logs was constructed in the following year at Main and Main Cross (Broadway) and consisted of two rooms per floor with a fireplace on each end. A second courthouse was completed in 1788, and constructed of native stone near “Cheapside.” Cheapside was named after an open market in London, England, which during the Middle Ages, was home to fairs and markets. The new building was two-stories high with four rooms on each floor.
Levi Todd, grandfather of Mrs. Abraham Lincoln, was appointed county clerk in 1788 and had a separate office detached from the courthouse. Records of the county were kept in a 12-feet by 15-feet stone building at his home Ellerslie on Richmond Road (now occupied by the defunct
Lexington Mall). But on January 31, 1803, the office burned, destroying most of the quarter sessions and county court records. The circuit court records were held in the basement in a vault. It was believed that the fire was intentionally set to destroy land claims. Not long after, the second courthouse burned and court was held at Mt. Zion Presbyterian Church at Walnut and Short streets.
The third courthouse, along with a smaller brick building for the surveyor and county clerk and another for the sheriff and circuit clerk, was built on the same site in 1806. The new structure was three stories high and remodeled in 1814 that saw the addition of a town clock with a large bell. An effort was made in 1872 to tear down the courthouse for “a magnificent courthouse,” but it was not until 1884 that a cornerstone was laid for Fayette County’s fourth courthouse.
Built of cut stone, the fourth courthouse was designed by Thomas Boyd of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and was two stories high with a dome. It lasted only a few years before burning on May 14, 1897. Court for the next two and one-half years was held in the Navarre Cafe building on East Main Street.
Construction on the fifth courthouse began on September 5, 1898 on the same site as the previous three. Masonic ceremonies were held by officers of the Grand Lodge of Kentucky during the laying of the cornerstone. The new building was designed by Lebman and Schmitt of Cleveland, Ohio in the Richardsonian Romanesque architectural style and constructed by the local firm of Howard and Clarke. The three-story building was finished at a cost of $187,181.
The exterior was constructed of rough greystone with a beltcourse and opening frames ornamented by bands of dentils, sawteeth or colonnettes with carved capitals. The cornice was also finished with cut stone with a band of crude corbels. The entrances featured large triple gables above the main cornice, with smaller double dormers over the wings. The structure resembled Richardson’s late work, such as the Allegheny County Courthouse and Jail in Pittsburgh. The interior’s centerpiece was a rotunda under the dome, which rose 105 feet above the ground floor. It featured a Y-shaped staircase that led to the corners of the well. The dome featured eight columns that supported round arches between which the ribs separated out to support the narrow lantern opening. The ring of the lantern and the surfaces of the dome supported bare orange lightbulbs. A small passageway with iron railings overlooked the rotunda, supported with elaborate corbelled cornicing with shell motives on the corbels.
The courthouse underwent renovations in 1960 and 1961, during which time a temporary courthouse was set up in the former St. Joseph Hospital on West Second Street. It underwent further renovations in 1972, during which time many of the rounded arches of the windows were squared off. The interior of the dome remained intact after the renovations, although covered with a drop ceiling and otherwise obscured with elevator shafts, ductwork for heating and air conditioning units, and structural supports.
By 1980, the LFUCG proposed moving all city-county facilities to a single structure, namely because of the poor maintenance of the courthouse.
In 2000, the Courthouse Square Foundation was founded by Mayor Pam Miller, which estimated that a complete renovation of the courthouse would cost $18 million, $12 million of which would go towards the restoration project and $6 million to endow a history museum and future building operations and maintenance. The project was identified as a beneficiary of the tax-increment financing (TIF) component of
Centrepointe. But as Tom Eblen, a
Herald-Leader columnist noted, converting some of the building to commercial space would make the project eligible for new market tax credits, and combined with historic preservation tax credits, would offset renovation costs further.
In 2002, a
new courthouse was completed and the former facilities were turned into the Lexington History Center, comprised of the Lexington History Museum, Lexington Public Safety Museum, Isaac Scott Hathaway Museum and the Kentucky Renaissance Pharmacy Museum. In a settlement to a lawsuit, LFUCG agreed to invest at least $1 million in support of the museum. But in July 2012, the old courthouse structure was closed after deteriorating lead paint and asbestos, along with mold, was discovered. Specifically, lead dust was identified on the floors and walls in public areas. The first, second and third floors were renovated in 2002 and 2003, and walls were painted with non-lead paint. It was speculated by city engineers that lead was pulled from the fifth floor dome by the action of the elevators moving up and down.
LFUCG received and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Brownfields Program grant to conduct an environmental assessment of the building. Preliminary assessments by three firms hired by LFUCG in 2011 indicated that it would cost a minimum of $250,000 for lead abatement and $50,000 to $100,000 to remove mold.
For comparison, the newer
Robert F. Stephens Courthouse Complex is located at the northeast corner of Main Street and 120 Limestone. Designed by Sherman-Carter-Barnhart, construction began in 2001. The Circuit Courthouse is five-stories with a basement, 120,000 square-feet and has nine courtrooms, whereas the District Courthouse is of similar height and size but with seven courtrooms.
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Cheapside, a block-long street on the west side of the original courthouse, was home to the largest slave-trading locality in the commonwealth. Regarded as one of the best slave market districts in the south, Africans were auctioned and sold in the courtyard. Cheapside later became a public market, parking lot and is now home to a farmer's market and enclosed stand.
Below: A 2009 view. 111 Cheapside, at right, is the Fayette Safety Vault and Trust Building and was designed by H.L. Rowe in the Victorian Gothic architectural style, donning New Grecian motifs and crowned with a tall gable. It was constructed in 1890-1891.
Below: A 2012 view of Cheapside with the new Fifth Third Bank Pavilion.
The
Lexington Financial Center is the city's tallest building at 32-stories and is located between Vine and Main streets at South Mill. First proposed in 1984 by the Webb Cos. as a 26-story tower across from the complimentary Vine Center, the Lexington Financial Center was a replacement for the never completed
Galleria. The Vine Center would have been a four-story office building.
Construction began in 1985 and on September 20, 1986, the trademark blue glass tube filled with argon gas on the tower’s roof was illuminated. Work was finished in December. The Webb Cos. occupied the upper three floors of the new tower while the Bank of Lexington moved into the lower four levels.
Below: A view prior to Centrepointe.
And what about
Centrepointe? I've written much about it that I just cannot reproduce my thoughts or feelings into another medium once again, but it looks like a new batch of renderings have been released. Here is a rundown of the renderings in sequential order:
Below: Version 1.
Below: Version 2.
Below: Version 3.
Below: Renderings of a redesigned Centrepointe released in July 2011 by Jeanne Gang.
Below: Version 5.
Below: A rendering of Centrepointe along Main Street. Four local architects designed the buildings to give it more variety and to help blend it in with the historic stock across the street. Rendering provided by EOP Architects.
Below: EOP Architect's addition to Studio Gang's work from version 4 is the avant garde building at Vine and Limestone streets. The structure would house a Jeff Ruby's restaurant, an Urban Active gym and a roof garden. March 2012 rendering provided by EOP Architect.
Park Plaza Apartments is an apartment tower at Main and Limestone Streets and fronts Phoenix Park. I lived here for several years and enjoyed the tower for what it was - simple, affordable downtown living. And the balcony was a nice addition!
Vine Street was given a makeover in 2011, followed by Main Street in 2012. The project included new permeable pavers for sidewalks, rain gardens and other cosmetic updates. For Vine Street, a moveable bike lane - the second in the United States after San Francisco, was installed.
The
500′s on the Main is a mixed-use development along the 500 block of West Main, across the street from Rupp Arena and adjacent to Victorian Square.
Edward Schneider of Schneider Designs announced the $15 million project on April 28, 2003, which would feature 120,000 to 125,000 square-feet of four street-level retail spaces and 69 condominiums in phase one. The second phase would add an 16 residences, 32 parking spaces and additional retail.
Initial plans for 500′s on the Main called for seven structures, the reuse of a vacant church and the renovation of an existing apartment building on West Short Street. The buildings would be interconnected with 20,000 square-feet of courtyards ringed with stores. The first phase opened in 2007 with 42 condominiums, and the first retail tenant, the Penguin Dueling Piano Bar, followed in 2008.
Construction began on the second phase in 2007 but Schneider soon went bankrupt. Citizens National Bank of Paintsville filed suit in Fayette Circuit Court in 2010, claiming that it was owed $1.3 million for phase two of the project. MCNB Banks of West Virginia owned a share of the original $5.2 million mortgage. In February 2011, Citizens National took over the unfinished development, and MCNB took over the title in November.
Work began on January 18, 2012 towards completion of the exterior of the second phase and was finished in March.
Below: Phase one.
Below: Phase two under construction.
Nearby is the
Lexington Opera House at 141-145 North Broadway. It replaced an earlier Opera House at Main and Broadway that was destroyed by fire in January 1886.
After the fire, noted theater architect Oscar Cobb of Chicago was hired to design a new theater. A contract was awarded to H.L. Rowe of Lexington by the Broadway Real Estate Company and work began in June 1886 and the new Lexington Opera House was opened on July 19, 1887.
The three-story building featured 1,250 seats with two balconies and two boxes on either side of the stage. The 596 auditorium and box seats were upholstered with Turkey morocco and velvet. Each box also came with its own hat rack, cane and umbrella holder, and springs to help people enter their seats. There was also 250 natural-gas powered lamps, 37 sets of scenery and a drop curtain. A gas chandelier in the dome was the first of its type in the United States. The cone of lights was accidentally inverted so that the apex was below, which improved upon its functionality and led to its adoption by the manufacturer. In addition, the stage was equipped with an Edison light board, a complex network of trap doors to enable horses and other animals to be used during production.
A six-inch pipe from Mr. Winston’s ice factory ran chilled water into the building to help cool the inside. As a fire had claimed the last structure, the new building had standpipes with water under pressure and hose connections that could flood the stage in under one minute if a fire were to break out.
The opera house was opened with a concert by the Cincinnati Symphony and the first dramatic event was held on August 29 with the production of “Our Angel” by the Lizzie Evans Stock Company. In 1890, a production of the “Henley Regatta” required the flooding of the stage while a performance in 1893 required the use of 100 animals and a mile-long parade for the performance of “A Country Circus.” For the production of “Ben Hur,” the stage was extensively remodeled to accommodate a chariot race onstage.
The Morning Herald noted that the new stage, which opened on February 17, 1904, was better equipped than the Broadway theater where “Ben Hur” opened.
But the introduction of the radio and motion pictures led to a decline in performances at the Opera House. The last full season was the 1920-21 season, and the last live performance was The Arabian on October 1, 1926. The building was converted into a movie house, which saw the addition of a false ceiling and the covering up of the balcony boxes with plasterboard. The occasional vaudeville and burlesque performed thereafter until 1936.
But an absent owner and competition from the Ben Ali, which had been converted into a movie house, the Strand and the Kentucky, led to a steep decline in fortunes for the Opera House. Price Coomer, who began work under owner Harry Schwartz in 1930, purchased the building from him in 1955. Coomer invested some funds to renovate the movie house. But in 1961, the theater and the adjoining Peerless Laundry building was scheduled to be demolished as part of an urban renewal project. While Peerless was ultimately demolished, a windbreak between Peerless and the Opera House was removed. In 1968, a windstorm caused part of the false ceiling to collapse which only heightened calls from the city to demolish the theater. Another windstorm in 1973 caused the roof to collapse.
Building inspectors noted that the theater was structurally sound, despite the roof collapse, and that it would be cheaper to renovate the Opera House at a cost of $2.5 million than to construct new at a cost of $7 million. The Opera House was purchased by the city as part of the
Lexington Center project, with financial assistance provided by The Opera House Fund, Inc. The fund was made up of philanthropists under the leadership of William T. Young and George and Linda Carey.
Reconstruction and renovation of the Opera House began in 1975, which included the removal of the false ceiling, the reopening of the two balconies, the restoration of the ornate plaster work above the proscenium and at the entrances and boxes, restoration to the original color scheme, and reconstruction of the stage to accommodate modern stage equipment. The Edison light board was restored, as was the “fly loft,” but only for their historical value. Modern equipment was installed for production purposes. Work on the Opera House was completed in 1976.
Walking by the
Security Trust Building at 269-275 West Short at North Mill streets, I wondered what is up with the future of this high-rise - once Lexington's tallest.
Two residences once occupied the corner lot, both built by John Springle or John Robb in 1803. The corner lot was the residence of the Honorable John Pope and the one adjacent to it for Dr. James Fishback. Senator Pope was known for his powers of oratory and later had a house designed by B.H. Latrobe elsewhere in the city. Fishback was not only a physician, but an early Baptist minister. The Pope residence was later home to Mrs. O.M. Russell, a "very large" landowner in the area, and the Fishback house was home to Dr. Joseph Boswell and his family.
The site was also known as the banking house and residence of David A. Sayre, who came to Lexington from New Jersey as a silver-plating mechanic in 1811. In 1820, he founded a private bank as a result of his friends' depositing surplus funds in his silversmith's safe. Eight years later, he purchased the Pope residence for his bank and later acquired the adjoining Fishback residence as his house. His back office was noted by W.C.P. Breckenride to have been the location of many political, economic, agricultural and transportation discussions, and Sayre, a strong Union supporter, played a major role in determining Kentucky's neutrality during the Civil War.
Ephraim D. Sayre, born in New Jersey and educated in Louisville, joined his uncle in Lexington in 1848 as a bookkeeper for the bank. He later presided over the transformation of the private bank into the the Security Trust & Safety Vault Company when it was incorporated on April 9, 1886. In 1907, the name was shortened to Security Trust Company.
In 1894, the Pope house was modernized with termlike stone piers and the Fishback residence was demolished and replaced with what the
Transcript described as "the swellest, handsomest, and most city-like structure anywhere in the South," which contained a red sandstone front facade. The building was designed by H.L. Rowe in the Richardsonian architectural style and cost $30,000. The "handsomest" building lasted only a decade, and the stone facade was relocated to another building on the east side of South Broadway between Vine and High streets where it eventually deteriorated.
In 1903, the architect of the nearby McClelland Building, in town to supervise the addition of an additional two stories, had been asked to prepare for plans and specifications of a five-story, fireproof office building with marble halls and two elevators for Security Trust. The proposal, by Richards, McCarty, & Bulford of Columbus, Ohio, would contain the bank offices on the corner at ground level with offices on the floors above. A request several months later upped the number of floors to eight, perhaps because of the enlargement of the McCelland Building.
Construction on the Beaux-Arts Baroque-styled tower began in 1904 by the Hendricks Bros. Company in an unusual manner. A five story section of the building was erected at the corner of Short and Mill streets, and when the western wing was completed, the bank relocated from the Rowe-designed building into the partially finished tower. The old bank building was then demolished and replaced with the eastern wing of the building, and then an additional three stories were added to the top of both wings. The entire building was finished in 1905.
Interior features included prismatic glass blocks in the sidewalk to partially light the basement, white enameled brick in the interior lightwell to reflect light into the center of the tower and the flexibility of office space on the upper floors.
On January 26, 2010, Biff Buckley, owner of the Security Trust Building, submitted an application for facade restoration to the Courthouse Area Design Review Board. Buckley proposed the replacement of deteriorating lightwell terra cotta glazed brick veneer with adhered masonry brick veneer by Laticrete, along with the fill in of the windows that had been covered with wood. The proposal also called for the repair of the roof and gutter system to correct water inflitration problems and the replacement of several windows with new bronze anodized aluminum windows to match the existing windows. The lightwell had allowed water to damage three facades on the structure. Not only had some of the glaze failed, but portions of the facade were out of plane and the lintels were corroding and expanding, contributing to further failure of the terra cotta. Limestone sills were breaking apart due to oxide jacking, where the steel had expanded due to moisture inflitration.
The Review Board disapproved the application on July 7 based on principle four of the Basic Principle of Design of the Courthouse Area, which read in part: "If the building is an historic structure, then respect its earlier character. It is important to consider the significant of their character defining features, including basic forms, materials and details when planning improvements." The materials chosen for the project also did not comply with the Design Guidelines for the Courthouse Area, which followed the Secretary of the Interior's Standards for the Rehabilitation of Historic Buildings.
Renovation to the facade is ongoing, but at the time of this post, I am unable to verify what work is occurring.
The
Northern Bank Building, at 249-57 West Short Street at Market, was constructed in 1889-90 by the William Bush & Company for the Northern Bank of Kentucky. It was designed in the High Victorian Gothic and New Grecian architectural styles by H.L. Rowe on a prominent corner behind the courthouse and at the head of Cheapside.
Originally, the three-story structure featured multiple entrances and roof treatments but unified by marked continuous horizontal treatments. The roof was steep with gables, and there were 12 bays facing Short Street and 15 facing Market, grouped into vertical pavilions with acute gables. A corner turret rose from a curved base that featured three curved windows.
In 1962, the Northern Bank Building was given a drastic remodeling by architect Warfield Gratz. The attic story, mansard roof, turret and some flair was replaced with a brick parapet. The windows were replaced with horizontal metal-framed glass, and the surface was sandblasted.
The building was just given a makeover with new windows, an attractive paint color and an interior gutting to become Parlay Social. A fourth floor addition is set to be constructed this year to support a rooftop bar.
Trotter’s Row was once coined for the west side of Limestone between Main and Short streets. In 1805, much of the property facing Limestone was purchased by merchants Samuel and George Trotter from John Hawkins of Scott County. It remained in the family until 1825 when the lot was sold by Mrs. Eliza Hall, widow of George Trotter, Jr. to Enoch Clark in 1834 who operated a carriage factory at the site. Judith Clark, who could have been related to Enoch, purchased the property in 1872. It was sold again in 1876 for $2,375 to Thomas Lyons after a fire had gutted the lot, which is most likely the time when a new building was constructed in the Italianate architectural style.
During Lyon’s ownership, 109 Limestone was home to the barbership of Benjamin Franklin. Born into slavery, the property of Judge George Robertson, later Chief Justice of Kentucky, Franklin served as a volunteer youth in the United States Colored Infantry towards the end of the Civil War, as a Missouri riverboat hand and engineering, and as a companion to H.D. Newcomb, a Louisville businessman, during a European trip. Franklin later worked for Robertson as a free man before operating his own barber shop from 1876 to 1902.
In 1887, Frederick J. Heintz operated a jewelry manufacturing and engraving business in the building, replaced a year later by Gottlieb Strohel, a shoemaker who remained there until 1890. It was then that another barber, R.G. Moore, joined Franklin. Rodney D. Messick was another barber who operated alongside Franklin from 1898 to 1907. In 1905, Lyon’s building was sold to the Security Trust and Safety Vault Company, and two years later, Franklin’s operations were replaced with the Coyne Bros.’ saloon. A part of Security’s buildings became home to Thomas H. Maybrier and Carl A. Toadvine’s barber shop from 1916 to 1921, although Maybrier continued on until 1930. In later years, the building was home to a shoe repair, radio repair (1930), restaurant supply, jewelry, watch and cigar store.
109 Limestone was nearly demolished for a parking lot. The owner of the property filed suit against LFUCG for their denial in his permit, as the building fell within several historic overlays. He was eventually forced to sell the property and it has since been rehabilitated.
The
United States Post Office and Courthouse is located at 101 Barr Street and houses the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky.
The building's construction dated to 1926, when the Public Buildings Act was passed partially to alleviate the pressing need for federal structures. Prior to its passage, Congress had provided no funding for any federal structure for over a decade. The office of the Supervising Architect of the Department of Treasury, which was responsible for the design of federal buildings, employed private architectural firms to alleviate some of the effects of the Great Depression.
The facility was designed by H.A. Churchill and John P. Gillig and was completed in 1934. The structure, listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1999.
South Hill is a neighborhood and historic district south of downtown, and is bounded by South Limestone to the east, South Broadway to the west, High Street to the north and Pine Street to the south. Despite encroachment of the University of Kentucky on its southern borders, South Hill has remained mostly intact.
Below: Ole Hookers Bait & Tackle Bar is a restaurant known for its delicious sandwiches, and is located at 205 South Limestone in the heart of South Hill.
Below: 245 South Limestone was the residence of Samuel and Daphney Oldham, the first free African Americans to build their own home in the city. It was purchased in 2006 when the building was on the brink of demolition and meticulously restored.
Kimball House Square is a mixed-use development along South Limestone. The first two residences in what was later known as the Kimball House were constructed in 1882 in the Victorian architecture style. Three other Victorian residences were constructed before 1906.
By the early 1900s, the original residences had been converted into a University of Kentucky sorority house. Douglas Warder purchased the sorority house in 1942 shortly before he left for service in World War II and upon returning, he acquired the remaining four adjacent houses and connected the buildings with passageways. Warder opened the 100-room Kimball House, a boarding house and motel, in 1948. It was named for a Kentucky congressman who lived in one of the houses at the turn of the century, and for the Palmer House in Chicago where Warder had learned the hotel business.
After the Joyland Amusement Park closed along the Paris Pike in 1960, a hotel guest purchased one of the park’s Rhesus monkeys at auction and abandoned it at the Kimball House. Warder kept the monkey in a large cage behind the hotel and acquired as many as 14 more over the years. The cage was later noted as the “monkey house” and had become a tourist attraction for children. The Kimball House closed in 2000.
In August 2005, Kingland Cooper Commercial Real Estate announced that Kimball Square, along with other adjoining residences, would be redeveloped under the Kimball House Square project. The $12.5 million development proposal featured 36 condominiums in five rehabilitated buildings on South Limestone, three on South Upper Street and a new center structure.
As a condition for approval in the South Hill Historic District, the Board of Architectural Review insisted that the buildings be separated and that the original portions of each building remain intact. Kimball House Square was slated for completion by September 2006, but the project was extended to early 2008.
In 2007, a series of liens was filed by D.S. Baesler Consulting and Construction for approximately $196,074 each, followed by liens by other contractors over the following years. On January 17, 2013, a foreclosure auction was held of the unsold 19 condominiums and 13 garages that netted $2.4 million for the Bank of the Bluegrass. The units were rented at the time of sale. The developer, JTM Holdings – owned by Marcum King with Darland and Cooper listed as officers, owed $4 million to the bank.
Center Court is a mixed-use development at South Upper Street, Avenue of the Champions and Bolivar Street just south of the
Short Hill neighborhood. Ground was broken for Center Court on September 29, 2005, the first project in the city to fall within the new mixed-use zoning ordnance. Phase one of construction included a four-floor structure along South Upper with 76 residential condominiums and first-floor retail with a five-story parking garage in the rear. Phase two included the completion of 80 additional residences wrapped around the garage.
University Lofts is located at 236 Bolivar Street and was constructed in 1899 as a Leggitt & Meyers tobacco processing plant. In 1993, local developer Rob McGoodwin purchased the tobacco warehouse and converted into a retail center with LAzer Quest as an anchor in 1995. Lazer Quest was closed in 2003 and the complex was renovated for $5.5 million into 86 loft-style apartments.
On June 15, 2011, the University of Kentucky trustees approved a plan to move student art areas from the deteriorated 94-year-old Reynolds Building on Scott Street to the University Lofts Building on Bolivar Street. The University Lofts structure had about 100,000 square-feet of usable space, approximately the same as the Reynolds Building. The proposed acquisition budget for the project was $6.7 million after McGoodwin had rejected an earlier offer of $6.1 million. Renovations to University Lofts would cost $8 million and include converting the structure into an open floor plan with specialized air exhaust systems, new lighting and accessible restrooms.
The University Lofts project would replace the Reynolds Building renovation, which was projected to cost $17 million. Construction on the art studios project could begin in July 2012.
Below: A photograph from 2009, which I have not posted before.
City Courts is located at 250 South Martin Luther King Boulevard and was developed by the South Hill Group. The 53 units were completed in mid-2006.
The
Western Suburb neighborhood was formally platted in 1815, and is one of the city’s oldest suburbs with residences in the neighborhood that date to 1795. The land forming Western Suburb was part of a large tract of land belonging to Colonel John Todd, a Revolutionary War officer and Virginia legislator. John’s brother, Levi Todd, was Mary Todd Lincoln’s grandfather.
Colonel Todd was killed in 1782 in the Battle of Blue Licks, and his daughter, Mary Owen (Polly), inherited his vast real estate holdings and became the richest woman in the state. After marrying James Russell in 1799 who passed away three years later, Polly Russell began constructing a grand mansion, Glendower, at the northwest corner of Second and Jefferson streets. It later became a hotel before being demolished in 1942.
St. Paul’s Chruch is located at 501 West Short Street. Designed by Louis Pickett of Cincinnati, Ohio, the three bay, High Victorian styled building was for many years the tallest structure in the city when it was constructed from 1865-1868. It featured a 210-foot tower topped with the first church clock in the city. A rectory, designed in the Richardsonian/Queen Anne architectural style, was built in 1886, followed by a school in the Classical Revival style in 1913.
ARTEK Lofts is a residential development along Old Georgetown Street. Designed by K. Norman Berry Architects and developed by AU Associates, ARTEK was developed to be "different," according to AU Associates President Holly Wiedemann. The project consisted of the construction of 38 new residential units, the renovation of the historic American Legion Nathan Caulder Post #142 headquarters into commercial space, and the reuse of the former Cunningham Funeral Home that burned several years prior. Interior finishes were contemporary and utilized steel, concrete, wood and brick.
An adjoining vacant lot was redeveloped into a new single family home and was designed by the School of Architecture at the University of Kentucky.
Below: February 2007 photograph.
Below: September 2007 photographs.
Below: May 2008 photographs.
Looking through my several year backlog of photographs, I have quite a few more of Lexington that I have yet to share - or even edit. Look for another update soon on some University of Kentucky projects, including Pavilion A of the Chandler Hospital, general campus scenes and some new residence halls!
Linear Mode
