Former Lexington dollar movie theater coming down after 25 years. What’s coming next?

Janet Patton

A Lexington movie theater that closed during the pandemic is going to be demolished.

The former AMC discount or dollar theater on Mapleleaf Drive is coming down this fall for new luxury apartment complex called Indigo. The movie theater was built in 1995 for Carmike and shuttered in March 2020.

In September 2020, the company said the AMC Classic would not be reopening.

The property at 3151 Mapleleaf Dr. recently sold for $3.7 million to Hills Properties of Cincinnati, which is planning to build three five-story buildings with more than 229 units total, according to Michael Copfer, vice president of Hills Properties. The deal was brokered by Silvestri Real Estate.

The company also built the Greyson on 27 apartment complex in Nicholasville and was drawn to this Lexington spot in a growing part of town between two major arteries.

“We’re a 65-year-old residential property company, and we think it’s a great location because it’s between these two commercial corridors, with frontage on Man o’ War (Boulevard),” Copfer said.

Hills Properties of Cincinnati, which will build the new 229-unit apartment complex, says Indigo will feature larger rooms, usable balconies and storage space as well as garage parking for most tenants.
Hills Properties of Cincinnati, which will build the new 229-unit apartment complex, says Indigo will feature larger rooms, usable balconies and storage space as well as garage parking for most tenants.

The demolition of the theater building is expected to take place in October or November. Site work will take place over the winter with building beginning in the spring.

The first tenants likely will be moving in in the spring of 2024, he said.

The apartments will be one- and two-bedroom units, some with dens and all with usable balconies, storage and laundry space for full-size washer-dryer and larger bedrooms.

The new Indigo apartment complex just off Man o’War at Mapleleaf Drive will feature open-concept kitchens with upscale finishes. The 229-unit complex should open in 2024.
The new Indigo apartment complex just off Man o’War at Mapleleaf Drive will feature open-concept kitchens with upscale finishes. The 229-unit complex should open in 2024.

Most of the parking will be on the first floor garages with elevators to take tenants to all floors.

Copfer said that that property is designed to appeal to young professionals as well as empty nesters.

“We build bigger and put more money in,” he said. “The units are 10 to 20 percent larger than comparable apartments. We give people a little more room. All the bedrooms can take a king bed plus two full-size nightstands. Because when people are ready to move out of their homes, they want to downsize but not the bedroom set.”

The open-concept floor plans will include kitchen islands as well as upscale finishes throughout, he said. The complex also will have a saltwater pool and garden area.

The Indigo apartment complex coming to Mapleleaf Drive will include a saltwater pool as well as clubhouse space and workout room.
The Indigo apartment complex coming to Mapleleaf Drive will include a saltwater pool as well as clubhouse space and workout room.

“We find a lot of empty nesters want to move to a maintenance-free space and free up some equity,” he said. Often they sell their larger homes and invest the equity in a second retirement home elsewhere but they want someplace near friends and family that they can just close up when they go out of town for weeks or months. “The renter-by-choice is what we call it. The active adult market has really taken off this last couple of years. We think that will be a big market here, in addition to millennials. More of a resort living kind of lifestyle.”