Historic Lexington home to be demolished for new development

LEXINGTON, Ky. (WKYT) - A Lexington building with a lot of history will soon be no more.

We’ve learned a demolition permit has been filed for the Meadowcrest Mansion, which sits off Winchester Road near I-75 and Polo Club Blvd.

PVA records show it was built in 1929 on the Hamburg Place Farm and was owned by the Maddens for years. Its current owners now say it will be torn down to make way for new development.

If walls could talk, Meadowcrest would certainly have some stories.

“I guess I want people to one day think, when they see the neighborhood, or whatever goes in there, whatever development, to know that there was once something else there,” architectural historian Janie-Rice Brother said.

For nigh on a century, the 7,500-square-foot mansion has stood there watching as Lexington grew up around it.

PVA records show the mansion sits on 86 acres, valued at $2.6 million—prime property in the Hamburg area.

Cowgill’s plans for it say the land could have a variety of uses, such as residential, medical, manufacturing and restaurants.

“I think that knowing where we come from helps us figure out where we’re going, and hopefully to get there in the best manner possible,” Brother said.

“Wrecking Ball Watch” reads the headline on Gardens to Gables, a blog run by an architectural historian. Her post that delves into the history of Meadowcrest has drawn attention to its fate.

In recent years, the home largely sat silent. But not in 2017 when filmmakers used it to shoot a horror movie. Since then, the future has been uncertain.

“It’s sort of a really sad final chapter to an overall sad story of that particular building. I’m probably sadder for what it means to the U.S. 60 corridor as you move east toward Clark County,” Brother said.

We’ve reached out to Cowgill for more details about their plans for the property. We did not hear back, though many offices are closed Monday. But the company’s webpage for the project said they are working through the necessary approvals and expect to break ground within a year.

Copyright 2022 WKYT. All rights reserved.