University of Kentucky officials want to sell a small parking lot at 245 Bolivar St. in Lexington, Ky. The minimum bid is $6.1 million.
bmusgrave@herald-leader.com
The University of Kentucky wants to sell a small parking lot near South Broadway for at least $6.1 million, according to bid for the property released in late July.
According to the request for proposals, a type of bid, UK wants a minimum of $6.1 million for the small parking lot at 245 Bolivar St. It also wants cash, according to the July 24 bid that closes Friday, Aug. 7.
“The terms of purchase are cash only upon closing,” bid documents say.
UK acquired the less-than-an-acre parking lot on Bolivar when it purchased the Lexington Lofts at 236 Bolivar in 2011. The former private residential apartments are now UK’s School of Arts and Visual Studies within the College of Fine Arts.
The .7 acre parking lot is in an ideal location but is not part of UK’s current needs, according to documents included in UK Board of Trustees June 30 meeting.
“While the property at 245 Bolivar Street is in a desirable location, the property is not strategically sized for the university’s needs, and the university has no further need for the property,” according to UK documents. “ It is recommended that the property be declared surplus to the university’s needs and sold by whatever method produces the best value.“
Jay Blanton, a spokesperson for UK, said the university could not comment on potential buyers of the property because the bid for property does not close until Aug. 7.
Could private student housing developer be likely buyer?
A Chicago-based private student housing developer may be the likely target of the RFP. Universities and government agencies typically seek bidders for valuable property such as the lot on Bolivar.
Core Spaces, which already has two HUBs, the brand name for the company’s private student housing apartments in Lexington, recently filed an application with Lexington city officials to transform a South Broadway car wash into another student-focused housing development.
The South Broadway location is across the street from 245 Bolivar St.
The company is proposing a seven-story complex with 278 units and 717 bedrooms at 532 South Broadway. The apartments would replace the car wash that has operated at the property since the early 2000s.
A separate parking garage with 750 spaces is proposed to be built at 300 Cedar Street, a surface parking lot on the same block as the lot UK is hoping to sell.
Several properties across Bolivar Street from the Core Spaces proposal will host a performing arts district built by UK, stretching along South Broadway and the long-planned redeveloped Scott Street that will eventually connect UK’s campus to Oliver Lewis Way. Concepts for the district published by UK do not show any plans for the Bolivar parking lot up for sale.
A spokesperson for Core Spaces declined to comment on whether the company wishes to purchase the lot from UK.
Adrian Paul Bryant is the Lexington Government Reporter for the Herald-Leader. He joined the paper in November 2025 after four years of covering Lexington’s local government for CivicLex. Adrian is a Jackson County native, lifelong Kentuckian, and proud Lexingtonian.
