Ground could be broken this fall for 300 apartments on Lexington Road after plans for the project were approved by the Louisville-Jefferson County Metro Planning Commission last week.
The site’s developer, Cityscape Residential, must get final approval for the project from the Louisville-Jefferson County Metro Council.
Kelli Lawrence, a partner in Cityscape Residential, said the company expects to receive approvals from the council in early August and move toward closing on the property and groundbreaking in October.
The project cost is estimated at $35 million to $40 million. Cityscape has entered a contract to purchase the property from 6202 Six Mile Lane LLC, but Lawrence declined to disclose the purchase price.
According to the Jefferson County Property Value Administrator’s website, the most recent property assessment listed the value of the land at more than $1 million.
Axis Apartments will consist of three five-story buildings, which will sit off Lexington Road near Distillery Commons and Headliners Music Hall.
Lawrence said two of the buildings will face Lexington Avenue toward Distillery Commons, with the third and smallest of the buildings to the north of the property, closer to Beargrass Creek.
“We’re bringing our buildings very close to the street … right along Lexington Road to bring back that historical streetscape,” she said.
Lawrence said the five stories will be above a “podium level” designated for parking, which was designed in part because a large portion of the project is in a floodplain.
The units will range from a 550-square-foot studio to a 850-square-foot one-bedroom unit to a 1250-square-foot two-bedroom unit. Rents will range from $700 to $1,600 per month for one of 10 different floor plans in the building, Lawrence said. The earliest units should be available by the summer of 2015.
She added that the common areas for the development are being refined but will include a fitness center, business center, dog park, swimming pool and an outdoor lounge.
Cityscape Residential is an Indianapolis-based developer that also is developing a site near Preston Highway and Interstate 265 for a 312-unit complex.
For the Lexington Road project. the company will offer a new amenity: a designated bicycle maintenance area. Lawrence said the area likely will include tools and bicycle stands in a secure area for people to maintain and repair their bicycles.
“We feel, given the location, we’re going to have a lot of people that use bicycles for recreation and for transportation purposes,” Lawrence said.
And green elements will be implemented in the project, including bioswales, which are green infrastructure with soils and vegetation to absorb and slow stormwater runoff.
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