Overcoming Hurdles, Project Starts Construction Near U of Kentucky

Work has started on MXWL (pronounced “Maxwell”), a student housing development that will serve students at the University of Kentucky in Lexington, Ky. The 277-unit, 655-bed community at 201 East Maxwell St., between Stone Street and Lexington Avenue, will open in time for the fall 2027 academic semester.

The project is being developed by Ohio-based Stavroff Land and Development and built by Gilbane Development, has seen a few bumps along the way.

Each fully furnished unit includes private bathrooms, walk-in closets, in-unit washer/dryer and high-speed Internet. The residences also come with a fully equipped kitchen. An underground garage provides 140 dedicated parking spaces, and a rooftop deck offers views of the university and downtown Lexington.

Common-area amenities include game-day courtyards, fire pits, grilling stations, outdoor lounges, a fitness center and coworking spaces. The pet-friendly property also provides students a sauna and a Jacuzzi.

The project has had a few bumps along the way. In December 2024, the Lexington Urban County Planning Commission postponed approval of the final plans for the project, asserting that those plans varied too much from the original plans. Those plans had been created as part of the request to rezone the site in late 2023.

After the commission declined to vote, the developer reworked the proposal to be more like the original, especially in terms of creating a facade with alternating surfaces in order to integrate the property with the surrounding historic Aylesford neighborhood. 

In early 2025, the commission approved the reworked plans, allowing work to proceed. Dallas-based Humphreys and Partners did the final design work.

Back in 2019, a different developer had proposed a taller student housing building, but that plan was rejected by the planning commission. Its main objection in that case was that 10 stories was too tall for the site. MXWL will be six stories high.

Increased enrollment boosts student housing demand

The University of Kentucky in Lexington is the flagship of the commonwealth’s public university system and the largest public university in Kentucky. In the 2024-25 academic year, enrollment was 36,161, representing about a 7 percent increase over the previous year.

Student housing has generally seen growth in recent years, according to Yardi Matrix data. Preleasing at Yardi 200 universities for the upcoming 2025-2026 academic year is up, reaching 79.9 percent as of May. That’s 150 basis points higher than a year earlier.

Enrollment growth at U.S. universities, up 1.8 percent year-over-year, is supporting demand for student housing. As of May, student housing in and around 30 of the 200 schools that Yardi surveys was more than 90 percent preleased, up from only 21 universities in April. Also, 40 Yardi 200 schools were at least 10 percent ahead of last year’s preleasing pace.