Ribbon-Cutting Celebrates Completion of Parkside Affordable Housing Project

June 18, 2018 | by Johan Graham

Mayor Jim Gray, Councilmember Peggy Henson and officials with AU Associates, Inc. cut a ribbon today to officially open the final phase of Parkside Apartments.   

The project, located at 1060 Cross Keys Road, brings an additional 36 units of affordable housing to Lexington, raising the total to 108 units of deed-restricted affordable housing on the site.

The property was the originally the home of the Gardenside Cabana Club and more recently the home of the Cross Keys YWCA.  After years of neglect and vandalism, AU Associates purchased the property upon receiving an award of affordable housing tax credits from the Kentucky Housing Corporation. Additionally, Lexington Affordable Housing Trust Fund ($960,000 fully amortizing loan) and HOME Funds ($500,000 grant) were also used to create this development.

All three phases represent over an $18.5 million investment in the Gardenside Neighborhood. Construction and permanent financing was provided by Citizens Union Bank of Shelbyville, and Community Affordable Housing Equity Corporation, located in Raleigh, North Carolina, is the tax credit investor.

Mayor Jim Gray speaks at the ribbon cutting celebrating the completion of the Parkside apartments June 18, 2018. Photo by Amy Wallot

Parkside provides much needed new, safe affordable housing for families in the Lexington area. The apartments include well-appointed kitchens with dishwashers and microwaves; individual unit climate control; ceiling fans; and washer and dryer hookups. Energy star appliances and many elements of “green” technology have been utilized to make this a sustainable new construction project. “By utilizing existing urban areas, we are countering sprawl and creating affordable housing in a sustainable manner,” said Holly Wiedemann, President of AU Associates, the developer of the project.

The new building includes 7 one-bedroom, 19 two-bedroom, and 8 three-bedroom apartments. The apartments are restricted to individuals and families making 60 percent or below of the area median income. Rents range from $525 – $775 per month, which includes water, sewer and trash.

Work on the final phase at Parkside began in October 2016 and is the latest project completed by AU Associates, Inc. The Lexington-based company has already completed nearly 30 projects since it was founded by Holly B. Wiedemann in 1990, five of which are also located in Lexington: the Fayette County Courthouse, First Presbyterian Church Apartments, Davis Park View and Parkside Phases 1 and 2. AU Associates will begin construction this fall on two additional Lexington affordable housing developments: affordable housing for veterans on the Lexington VA Campus and housing for seniors on Antique Drive in Meadowthorpe.

View the article and video here

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