09/29/2026
Not within our neighborhood footprint but it is affecting downtown and around UK’s campus. Happening tomorrow/Wednesday if you are interested.
Greetings,
Please forward this email to your neighborhood association members and anyone else who might be able to attend the public and planning commission meetings for the proposed zone change for development of high rise student housing. The public meeting is tomorrow, Wednesday, 9/30 and the planning meetings is October 22. See details and contacts for information below.
Protect the Neighborhoods We Call Home Before High-Rise Student Housing Destroys Them
You are receiving this email because your neighborhood is one of many that are, or soon may be, affected by existing and proposed student housing development projects. These are the places where families have built lives, where neighbors know one another, and where Lexington’s character is felt block by block. The proposed student housing projects are backed by out-of-state investment interests and developers whose priorities are unlikely to reflect that shared vision for stable, livable neighborhoods, as described in the Comprehensive Plan and Lexington Downtown Area Master Plan.
This is not a choice between growth and no growth. It is a choice between development that respects the people already living here and development that pushes them aside, strains the streets and services they rely on, and treats our neighborhoods as investment opportunities rather than communities.
The Housing Need
The Comprehensive Plan calls for downtown infill housing at a range of price points, but Lexington’s most urgent housing need is affordability. To meet current demand, 22,000 affordable housing units are needed (Commerce Lexington). Beyond the need for affordable housing, 4,739 units are projected to meet the current demand for University of Kentucky student housing. So far, there are 1439 student units currently under construction on Maxwell and Lexington Avenue and an additional 2936 units are proposed for construction at other sites. Another development for a 20 story apartment building has been proposed for the downtown YMCA property. These developments far exceed the projected student housing demand.
Neighborhood Impacts
The consequences for nearby neighborhoods are serious, lasting, and personal. The height of the proposed residential building on High St, Hagerman Ct and Stone will dwarf surrounding residences. The proposed development will displace existing affordable housing, increase traffic congestion, reduce parking availability, worsen stormwater drainage, decrease greenspace and will result in a surplus of high-rise, luxury apartments once student enrollment declines. Once built, these large structures are difficult to repurpose and are ill suited for adaptive reuse.
How These Projects Are Advancing
These projects are advancing because the current development climate makes it too easy to treat the Comprehensive Plan as a tool for justifying high-rise infill rather than protecting the people and places that give neighborhoods their character. Developers often rely on attorneys who know how to use the language of the plan to support zone changes. And as the case with the Maxwell, High Street, Stone Avenue and Hagerman Ct developments, public oversight is bypassed by securing demolition approval before a property is sold, leaving residents with fewer opportunities to object until the homes, trees, and familiar streetscapes they care about are already at risk.
A Collective Call to Action
As residents of the downtown community, we can take action. We can work to reduce the negative impacts of the developments in progress, and we can press city planners and council members to prioritize true affordable housing. The development on High Street, Stone and Hagerman Ct requires a zone change from medium density and professional office to high density residential to build 225 student units.
The developer has scheduled a public meeting to discuss the development tomorrow, September 30th at 5 pm at the downtown public library. We know from experience that showing up makes a difference. Vote on the zone change has been scheduled for review by the planning commission on October 22, at 1:30, 2nd floor Government Center, 200 E Main St. Community opposition to the Woodland Triangle stopped that development. Please join us at these two meetings. Your presence and voice matter.
The other way we can influence development that meets the need for affordable housing rather than student housing is to contact your city council representative. With five open city council seats in November, residents can help shape a council that values responsible development, protects existing housing, and understands that neighborhoods are not blank spaces for speculative investment—they are homes, histories, and communities worth defending. Our neighborhoods deserve a future shaped by the people who live here—not by decisions made only after the damage is done.
Best Regards,
Karma Bryan
Lisa Maggio
Cindy Trapp
Jennie Leavell
Carrick Moon
