An image of 410 Sporting Court, newly purchased by Ukrainian Pentecostal Church. The building used to be home to LexCity Church, which closed in 2023.
BY CHRISTOPHER LEACH
UPDATED AUGUST 28, 2025 2:29 PM
In the past year-plus, there’s been significant turnover for a major property on Lexington’s south side.
In July 2024, LexCity Church, a large church at 410 Sporting Court near Fayette Mall with more than 4,000 followers on its Facebook page, announced it was permanently shutting down. The announcement came about a week after former pastor Zachary King was charged with raping a minor.
King, 48, was indicted on seven counts of felony sex crimes, according to court records. His case is ongoing in Fayette Circuit Court.
After LexCity Church, formerly called Quest, announced the closure, the church’s lender contacted Schrader Commercial Properties to sell the 13.8-acre property.
James Schrader, owner and principal broker of the commercial real estate firm, sold the property to a new church that garners large congregations of its own. The church owns the large building on the property, the 600-space parking lot to the west and the grass field to the west of the parking lot.
Before the property was put on the market, LexCity Church also sold a 2-acre parcel of land to AU Associates, a Lexington-based affordable housing developer. The company is constructing affordable housing units for senior citizens, set to open in spring 2026.
Here’s the latest on 410 Sporting Court.
Ukrainian Pentecostal Church
Schrader sold the church building in November 2024 to the Ukrainian Pentecostal Church, which was previously at 1101 Brannon Road.
The original asking price was $8.95 million, and it sold for $9 million.
The property includes a 93,328-square-foot building used for church services and other activities, as well as 600 parking spaces. The deal also included all the items inside the building, such as audio and video and recording equipment, furniture and television sets.
The Ukrainian Church’s property borders the AU Associates’ planned affordable housing complex and Ashland Baptist Church, to the south of the complex and the church’s property.
Schrader said there were several people interested in the property, but the Ukrainian church offered the best deal for bondholders.
“I think we got the best possible outcome,” Schrader said. “The Ukrainians are able to use it. The bondholders were largely satisfied. You got the affordable housing going up in the back. In the end, it turned out to be a very positive outcome with the disposition of the property.”
Ivan Timoshchuk, treasurer of Ukrainian Pentecostal Church, said they were at their former location for 15 years and in need of additional space. The church has around 1,400 members, but it draws about 2,500 people for its Sunday services.
Ukrainian Pentecostal Church moved into the Sporting Court location in late spring and has been adjusting to the additional space.
“It’s a little bit different because it’s so big,” Timoshchuk said. “Everybody is trying to get used to it, but so far so good. We are really pleased with the purchase.”
The church has now condensed the number of its Sunday services to two — one in the morning and one in the evening. Before moving to Sporting Court, the church used to have two morning services to accommodate all the guests.
The auditorium at the Sporting Court property has about 2,400 seats, which is much larger than the 1,000-seat auditorium the church had on Brannon Road.
“They’re certainly utilizing the property, and I think they’re meeting the needs of the Ukrainian population here outside of the church as well,” Schrader said.
About 5,000 people of Ukrainian descent live in Central Kentucky, primarily in Nicholasville.
