LEXINGTON, KY. — Vesper Holdings has acquired The Lex, a 649-bed student housing community located near the University of Kentucky campus in Lexington. Built in 2008, the four-story property offers a mix of one-, two- and four-bedroom units with bed-to-bath parity. Amenities include a 24-hour fitness center, resort-style swimming pool, yoga studio, study spaces, outdoor hammock garden and a newly renovated clubhouse and gaming lounge. Vesper partnered with an undisclosed institutional investor on the off-market acquisition, financing for which was placed by Gregg Wallace at AMA Financial. The new ownership plans to begin a capital improvement plan imminently that will include the addition of updated technology and upgrades to units and shared amenity spaces. Campus Life & Style, Vesper’s in-house property management platform, will operate The Lex.
Kentucky
Brennan, Arch Street Capital Purchase 386,705 SF Manufacturing Facility in Corbin, Kentucky
by John Nelson
CORBIN, KY. — Brennan Investment Group and an institutional client of Arch Street Capital Advisors have purchased a 386,705-square-foot manufacturing facility in Corbin, a city in south Kentucky equidistant between Knoxville, Tenn., and Lexington, Ky. via I-75. The property was fully leased at the time of sale to Trèves Group, a global automobile supplier focused on automotive interiors and acoustic environments. The seller and sales price were not disclosed. Brennan and Arch Street Capital purchased the facility as part of its 10th joint venture, which has $300 million of purchasing power to acquire mission-critical facilities in the top U.S. industrial markets.
ELIZABETHTOWN, KY. — Matthews Real Estate Investment Services has brokered the $4.9 million sale of Vaughan Village Apartments, a multifamily community located at 100 Crimson Creek Drive in Elizabethtown, approximately 45 miles south of Louisville. Built in 1996, the property comprises 48 duplex-style units situated on nine acres. Ellie Funk, Austin Tomaiko and Austin Graham of Matthews represented the undisclosed seller in the transaction. The undisclosed buyer assumed an existing HUD loan as part of the acquisition.
LEXINGTON, KY. — Choice Hotels International Inc. has opened a 114-room Everhome Suites hotel in Lexington, the brand’s first in Kentucky. Situated off I-64, the four-story property is owned by the developer, New Circle Investments, and managed by H&W Hotels. Every room at the extended stay hotel features a fully equipped kitchen with a full-sized refrigerator, dishwasher, stovetop, microwave, flatware, cookware and counter space, and select rooms include washers and dryers. Amenities include complimentary Wi-Fi, a market, grills, fire pit, laundry facilities and a fitness center featuring Peloton bikes. With this opening, Choice Hotels has four Everhome Suites open, with more than 10 set to open over the next 12 months, 20 under construction and 60 in the planning stages.
LOUISVILLE, KY. — Seattle-based specialty outdoor retailer REI Co-op will open its first store in Kentucky this fall in Louisville. The new 31,100-square-foot store will be located at Paddock Shops, a 353,665-square-foot open-air shopping center owned by CBRE Investment Management and Fairbourne Properties. Situated in the city’s northeast corridor just off I-265 and I-71, the store will offer a wide assortment of outdoor gear and apparel and feature a full-service bike shop, buy online-pickup in store (BOPIS) options and curbside pickup service. The closest REI stores are in Cincinnati (95 miles away, opened 2012); Castleton, Ind. (130 miles away, opened 2012); Beavercreek, Ohio (150 miles away, opened 2024); Brentwood, Tenn. (196 miles, opened 1999); and Knoxville, Tenn. (243 miles away, opened 2014).
SOMERSET, KY. — NAI Isaac has signed Ace Hardware to a 14,000-square-foot lease at Tradewinds Shopping Center, a retail property located at 370 S. Highway 27 in Somerset, about 75 miles south of Lexington, Ky. According to LoopNet Inc., the 144,000-square-foot shopping center was built in 1966 and is located on a 15-acre site. Paul Ray Smith Jr. and Zach Smith of NAI Isaac represented Ace Hardware in the lease negotiations. The landlord was not disclosed.
Walker & Dunlop Negotiates Sale of 128-Unit Seniors Housing Property in Metro Cincinnati
by John Nelson
FLORENCE, KY. — Walker & Dunlop has negotiated the sale of Legacy Living Florence, a 128-unit seniors housing community in Florence, just south of Cincinnati. Built in 2022, Legacy Living features independent living, assisted living and memory care units. The buyer was an undisclosed REIT. The seller and sales price were also not disclosed. Alex Vice, Joshua Jandris and Brett Gardner led the Walker & Dunlop Investment Sales team in brokering the sale.
RD Property Group to Break Ground on 122,000 SF Kroger Marketplace at Newton Springs in Lexington, Kentucky
by John Nelson
LEXINGTON, KY. — RD Property Group is underway on the development of a 34-acre mixed-use development located in Lexington. The City of Lexington recently certified plans for the construction of a 122,000-square-foot Kroger Marketplace at the project, dubbed Newton Springs. Plans for the store include a drive-thru pharmacy, adjoining wine and spirits shop and 476 parking spaces. The development also features a recently opened Everhome Suites hotel, as well as two four-story buildings, a restaurant space and three additional buildings. Tenants at the property include Estepp’s Shell, Jimmy Johns, Hot Head Burritos, The UPS Store, Tire Discounters and Starbucks Coffee.
LOUISVILLE, KY. — CBRE has opened its new 8,600-square-foot office on the fifth floor of Ormsby III, an office building located at 10200 Forest Green Blvd. in Louisville. The firm is relocating from One Paragon Centre at 6060 Dutchmans Lane. The new office is part of CBRE’s Workplace 360 program and showcases spaces that are designed to accommodate hybrid working, thus no desks are assigned. Teams are assigned to various neighborhood work areas where CBRE team members can work in any unoccupied space. The office has several different work areas including focus, huddle and conference rooms, as well as a library space with banquette seating. There is also a wellness room and an open-space lobby known as The Heart that features a large communal table, a digital media display with speakers near the entrance and a café for employees and guests. CBRE Design Collective designed the new Louisville office, which also features nods to the city’s history with Louisville Slugger bats decorating the conference room and aesthetic nods to the bourbon industry.
SCOTTSVILLE, KY. — Global HVAC products manufacturer Halton Group has wrapped up the expansion of its manufacturing facility in Scottsville, a southern Kentucky city near the Tennessee border. The expansion comprises 47,000 square feet of new manufacturing space and 8,100 square feet for laboratories and offices, bringing the facility to 96,100 square feet. Halton expects the expansion to generate 60 new full-time jobs in the Allen County area. Halton has had a presence in Kentucky since 1988.