The condo building at 505 West Main St. currently back under construction.
Lexington, KY - A long-dormant residential building in downtown Lexington is back under construction, with the developer of Main and Rose and the Nunn Building, Phil Holoubek, acting as a “fee-based developer” for the building’s owner, West Virginia-based MCNB Bank and Trust.
The building at 505 W. Main Street, formerly a part of the 500s On Main project, saw construction halted several years ago when its original developer, Schneider Designs, defaulted on its loan.
Holoubek told Business Lexington that the building has been gutted, as drywall and studs that had been put in place as part of the original construction have been ripped out and the floor plans have been altered.
The original designs, Holoubek said, were for one-bedroom condos with large open areas meant to be home offices adjacent to the unit’s main living area. Those plans have been changed to accommodate two bedrooms in each of the 12 single-floor units. The top two floors of the building will include four two-story penthouse units with large balconies. Those will also have two bedrooms and a possible third bedroom that could serve other purposes such as a home office, he said.
“The plan is to market them as condos, but we’ll rent them out as apartments until a buyer comes along,” Holoubek said. “What the bank sees is downtown housing, even if it is rental. They know that if they finish these units, they’ll be able to rent them out.”
Holoubek said movement on this building is indicative of the housing market nationally. “The sales market is coming along at a moderate pace, but the rental market over the last two years has been incredibly hot,” he said.
The units will range from 1,200 square feet for the smallest unit to 2,400 square feet for the largest two-story penthouse unit. Prices will start at $250,000 for the two-bedroom units and $399,000 for the two-story penthouses.
While the building will be branded separately from its neighboring 500s On Main buildings, Holoubek said residents will be a part of the same homeowners association as residents of the existing 500s buildings, which include a converted church fronting Short Street and another built at the same time as the original Main Street building.
The 505 W. Main building went under the ownership of Paintsville-based Citizens National Bank Corp in November of 2010 and was sold to MCNB in October of 2011 for $2,742,555, according to the Fayette County PVA’s website.
The first units should be ready for residents starting in the early part of 2014, according to Holoubek There is also space for retail at street level on Main. The units will be marketed through Holoubek's real estate company, LRC.