Lasting Memories of Versailles Elementary School

November 30, 2016 | by Bob Vlach

The future of one former school building in Versailles has been re-imagined.

The Versailles Elementary School building located at 299 South Main Street is being renovated into an apartment building owned and operated by AU Associates, a Lexington-based company that focuses on adaptive reuse projects such as the revitalization of aging school buildings.

A first-grader at Versailles Elementary during the 1935-36 school year, Betty Dozier came back to her hometown school as a teacher in 1952 – teaching first-graders in the same classroom where she was taught as a first-grader.

“I share that with lots of people,” says Dozier, a teacher at Versailles Elementary from 1952 to 1964.

She began her teaching career in the oldest section of Versailles Elementary (built in 1888 for $8,000 and torn down in 1967), and later moved to a front portion of the school “where we could look down Main Street and see the courthouse clock,” Dozier remembers.

Joe Gormley was a sixth-grader during his only year at Versailles Elementary School. He says, “They were very welcoming at the school.”

The former Woodford County schools superintendent still remembers the names of his principal (Miss George) and homeroom teacher (Miss Williams), who he describes as “just good folks.”

Ernest West – an inductee of the inaugural class of the Woodford County Public Schools Hall of Fame in 2012 – was also a Versailles Elementary sixth-grader, “and already playing varsity football,” remembers Gormley.

Patrick Shryock also has many fond memories of being a first-grader at Versailles Elementary School – years later.

Being in Jean Barrows’s class, meant that he also got to go to the same elementary school as his dad, Nickie Shryock, a longtime Versailles Police officer.

“It was kind of cool going to the same elementary school that he went to. So I’m glad I got to experience that,” says Patrick Shryock. “There are not too many people around that can say they went to Versailles Elementary.” Shryock’s most vivid memories came on Friday nights. Watching basketball games pitting his elementary school against teams from Millville, Mortonsville, Nonesuch, Pisgah and Midway was unforgettable. “It wasn’t anything for that Versailles (Elementary School) gymnasium to be packed out (with people) on basketball nights. That was always a good time. It would be standing room only,” remembers Shryock.

Longtime elementary school teacher Peggy Carter Seal never attended classes at Versailles Elementary, but she’s happy to see that the aging school building is being repurposed as an apartment building. “Any old structure that you can refurbish and use in a new way benefits the community,” says Carter Seal. “It’s a good use of a public facility,” adds Gormley.

The former Woodford County judge-executive says he plans to attend an open house for Versailles School Apartments on Thursday, Dec. 8, at 11:30 a.m. The grand opening and ribbon cutting ceremony includes featured speaker Libby Jones, former Kentucky first lady. Building tours will follow. The repurposed elementary school building most recently housed the school district’s community education center, but Gormley says, “I call it Versailles Elementary School all the time.” Says Dozier, “I want to get in and see what each suite looks like. What are they going to call the suites?”

Built for $70,000, Versailles Elementary School opened its doors to students on Sept. 4, 1939.

Read the full article here

Transylvania University to sell baseball field in support of affordable housing development

January 16, 2024
January 10, 2024 | By Shepherd Snyder A $2.8 million sale between Transylvania University and a group of Lexington banks will transform the school’s baseball field into an affordable housing development. The 12.5 acre development will include both rental and owned properties for families making 30 to 80 percent of the city’s median income. The university plans to close the sale of Marquard Field to a group including Central Bank, Community Trust Bank, Republic Bank & Trust, Stock Yards Bank and Traditional Bank. The group has created a $3 million revolving fund to support affordable housing development throughout the city. Brien Lewis is President of Transylvania University. He says the downtown project would help residents stay in the city, and closer to their workplaces. “There's a lot of challenges to finding affordable housing,” Lewis said. “And it's not just the housing itself. If you have to be farther out, then you've got more transportation costs, and so on. So we see this as something that will certainly benefit the Transylvania community, but obviously, much more, the Lexington community.” Housing development groups include Habitat for Humanity, AU Associates, Urban League of Lexington and Winterwood. They’re being joined by Commerce Lexington, Lexington for Everyone and the Building Industry Association of Central Kentucky to create a development plan. Darryl Neher is the CEO of Lexington Habitat for Humanity. He says the development will help ease the rising cost of living for low-income families. “What we're experiencing here is not unlike what's happening across the country,” Neher said. “Post COVID, we've seen housing prices increase as much as 40 percent. Since the beginning of COVID, we're also seeing cost of construction increase, we're seeing interest rates increase, we're seeing rents increase. And so all of these pressures are putting our most vulnerable at risk.” Ground is expected to break on the project in the summer of 2025. The Transylvania Pioneers have been playing at Counter Clocks Field, home of Minor League Baseball’s Lexington Counter Clocks, since 2019. Click here to read the full story.

More affordable housing units open in northern Lexington

September 27, 2023
Yesterday was a huge event and milestone for AU Associates as we cut the ribbon on our largest affordable housing project ever and the largest in Lexington in over 20 years. I can't begin to thank our amazing team enough for the hard work to bring these 252 units of affordable housing to fruition. We've already moved in our first 60 families to a development with market rate amenities at affordable prices! View our press coverage at the following links: https://www.wtvq.com/more-affordable-housing-units-open-in-northern-lexington/ https://www.wkyt.com/2023/09/26/ribbon-cut-another-affordable-housing-complex-lexington/

New affordable housing complex for seniors opens in Hamburg

January 26, 2023
AU Associates is proud to announce the opening of our NEW 24-unit affordable housing complex for seniors 55 and older located out on Polo Club Lane. This is a huge victory for affordable housing community and for seniors in the Lexington area! Click here to read the full story.

Groundbreaking ceremony for Loganwood apartments held on Friday

November 16, 2022
Pictured above: Digital rendering of the Loganwood Apartment complex. LOGAN - In addition to the annual Veterans Day Parade and Ceremony, the Logan community veterans will also be honored with the official groundbreaking of the new Loganwood housing complex on Friday. Following the events of Veterans days, the long-awaited groundbreaking ceremony of the Loganwood Apartments complex will be held at 2 p.m. The construction of Loganwood will provide 33 affordable, family apartments with a preference for income-eligible veterans in need of housing. The apartments will be available in one and two-bedroom options. The developer building the structure will be AU Associates, the same firm that built the Logan Landing Apartments on the east end of Stratton Street four years ago. Officials from the Logan Housing Corporation, the City of Logan, AU Associates, and the other funding partners will be on hand to celebrate Friday's groundbreaking. The groundbreaking will take place at 314 Hudgins Street, Logan, located just past the Logan Post Office. A complete report on Loganwood and the groundbreaking will be included Nov. 16th edition of The Logan Banner.

Mayor breaks ground on new affordable housing project

August 22, 2022
Mayor Linda Gorton and Councilmember Josh McCurn today joined developers and contractors to break ground on a new $43 million affordable housing project with 252 apartments.

New senior living community opens in Lexington

August 22, 2022
Glade View Townhomes is the latest project by AU Associates for affordable housing in West Virginia and Kentucky. It features 33 units with one, two and three-bedroom options.

New senior living community opens in Lexington!

August 22, 2022
Lexington, Ky (WKYT) - City officials celebrated the grand opening of a new senior living community in Lexington Friday morning.

New Affordable Housing Apartments Open for Senior Citizens in Lexington

By au-admin • August 10, 2020
August 10, 2020 | by Mario Anderson LEXINGTON, KY. — Monday was the first ribbon-cutting ceremony that the City of Lexington government leaders participated in since March 6. That date, was when the first COVID-19 case was reported in Kentucky. Monday morning, Lexington Mayor Linda Gorton and others gathered to announce details about the city’s latest […]

Meadowthorpe Adds 71 Senior Living Units to Affordable Housing List

By au-admin • August 10, 2020
August 10, 2020 | by Steve Rogers LEXINGTON, Ky. (WTVQ) – Lexington added 71 new senior-living apartments to its list of affordable housing Monday. Mayor Linda Gorton and Councilmember Josh McCurn cut the ribbon to officially open the apartments for independent senior citizens in Meadowthorpe Landing at 1447 Antique Drive. “Our city needs more affordable housing, […]

‘Loganwood’ Senior Housing Center on Track to Open In 2022

By au-admin • March 11, 2020
LOGAN | March 11, 2020 | by David Vidovich — Updates on the veterans housing complex to be built in downtown Logan were given during the recent regular sessions of both the Logan County Housing Authority and the Logan Housing Corporation. Nicknamed Loganwood, the complex will be a living center tailored for veterans in need […]
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