UK Board Approves Lease Between Coldstream, Cityscape to Develop Residential Village
On May 5, 2020 the University of Kentucky Board of Trustees authorized the UK Executive Vice President for Finance and Administration to negotiate and execute a ground lease with Cityscape Residential, LCC, a real estate development and construction firm.
Cityscape will lease land from the university for a residential village development project on UK’s Coldstream Research Campus. The 13-acre development will include approximately 250 multi-family residential units. Cityscape will construct and operate the residential village, complying with Coldstream’s design guidelines within its land lease contract.
“Multi-family housing will allow for the creation of a dynamic live-work-play-learn environment by providing the social infrastructure necessary to drive the development of office and research and development facilities,” said George Ward, executive director of Coldstream Research Campus. “We are excited to be working with Cityscape and look forward to the development of this project.”
The university first issued a request for proposals (RFP) in March 2018, and selected Indianapolis-based Cityscape based on their award-winning luxury multi-family rental communities.
“Cityscape was honored to be selected during the RFP process and looks forward to the potential of breaking ground later this year,” said Brian Evans, vice president of Cityscape Residential. “With a 30-year track record developing several billion dollars of luxury rental apartment communities throughout the middle U.S., we hope to soon become a landmark community within the Lexington area.”
Cityscape Residential is a full-service real estate development and construction firm based in Indianapolis, Indiana. The principals of Cityscape have been responsible for the successful development and/or financing of over $2 billion of real estate throughout the eastern two-thirds of the United States during their careers and have been responsible for the development and construction of several thousand for-sale and rental residential units across multiple market areas.
The firm brings an especially strong background to the innovative design and construction of high-density multifamily communities, leveraging a deep base of in-house construction experience among its partners and associates. Principals in Cityscape are trained and have practiced in the fields of architecture, urban planning, accounting and construction management and have served as senior executives at firms ranging from small entrepreneurial partnerships to large, public, NYSE-listed companies.
The University of Kentucky is increasingly the first choice for students, faculty and staff to pursue their passions and their professional goals. In the last two years, Forbes has named UK among the best employers for diversity, and INSIGHT into Diversity recognized us as a Diversity Champion three years running. UK is ranked among the top 30 campuses in the nation for LGBTQ* inclusion and safety. UK has been judged a “Great College to Work for" two years in a row, and UK is among only 22 universities in the country on Forbes' list of "America's Best Employers." We are ranked among the top 10 percent of public institutions for research expenditures — a tangible symbol of our breadth and depth as a university focused on discovery that changes lives and communities. And our patients know and appreciate the fact that UK HealthCare has been named the state’s top hospital for four straight years. Accolades and honors are great. But they are more important for what they represent: the idea that creating a community of belonging and commitment to excellence is how we honor our mission to be not simply the University of Kentucky, but the University for Kentucky.