In Lexington, KY, a vacant former industrial site is taking on a new purpose.
Named The Railyard in recognition of the site’s history as a railroad hub for both freight and passenger trains, the new development will transform the property into a walkable, three-building community with 32 apartments and two retail spaces. Developed by 1000 Delaware LLC, the project also includes 12 apartments reserved for households earning up to 80% of the area’s median income, helping provide housing options close to downtown Lexington with access to its employers, restaurants, and entertainment.
For the team in charge of bringing The Railyard to life, revitalizing the site meant finding a practical approach to adaptive reuse and infill development, while building efficiently without compromising performance. That approach ultimately led the project team to make a significant change to the floor assembly: replacing the originally specified poured gypcrete underlayment with MAXTERRA® MgO cement panels from NEXGEN.
While gypcrete had already been specified for the floors, there was one problem: general contractor Mefford Contracting had difficulty finding qualified installers.
"When we started looking at gypcrete, there weren't many people around here to pour it," said Earl Raglin, project manager at Mefford Contracting.
That led Raglin to explore alternatives. He found MAXTERRA® cement panels through Kight Home Center, and introduced it to project manager Neil Dees of Studio A Architecture and the developer at 1000 Delaware LLC, Will Hanrahan. From there, Dees and Hanrahan saw an opportunity to simplify even more than just the building material requirements.
Those savings came in the form of labor and time.
“We broke even on material costs, but the real savings of using MAXTERRA® are time and easier coordination,” said Hanrahan. “For us as the developer, that means occupants can move in sooner, crews spend less time on site, and there are fewer subcontractors to manage.”
For developers, every day saved in construction is a faster path to occupancy and bringing the project closer to generating revenue.
For The Railyard, one of the main benefits was that MAXTERRA® cement panels could be installed by the framing crew already working on the project, eliminating the need to bring in a separate wet-trade subcontractor. That schedule advantage became particularly important as construction progressed across the three buildings. Unlike poured gypcrete, the panels also eliminated the associated curing and drying period, giving Raglin greater flexibility to sequence subsequent work without waiting for another trade to mobilize and the floor to cure.
"Saving time has been the biggest thing," Raglin says. "Gypcrete takes seven to eight days of curing time and a period to settle in. We wouldn't be halfway done if we had to use gypcrete."
The specification of MAXTERRA® also eliminated a full layer of drywall, reducing material requirements by approximately 3,000 square feet of drywall across the three buildings.
“We’re seeing the speed of construction firsthand and the contractor is really excited about the choice of MAXTERRA®,” added Hanrahan. “Basically, it was a really good decision.”
Particularly important in multi-family construction, project manager Dees saw value in MAXTERRA fire performance and NEXGEN’s portfolio of UL tested fire-rated assemblies. This provided the design team additional options when evaluating the building’s floor and ceiling assemblies.
According to the project team, NEXGEN also provided the product information, code documentation, and guidance on fire- and sound-rated assemblies the team needed to evaluate the substitution.
"The MAXTERRA® product has been a great switch for us," said Dees. "As a designer, NEXGEN has all of the technical information we need to quickly understand what we're looking at, and how we can apply their products to our building."
By the time of the project's latest construction update, approximately 60% to 70% of the MAXTERRA® installation was complete, and the team was already seeing the benefits of the change firsthand.
For Raglin, the biggest takeaway is straightforward: schedule.
"If it wasn't for MAXTERRA®, I'd be a little behind schedule-wise," he said. "It's been a satisfaction to have this product. I’m thankful for it."
For a project centered around making better use of an existing industrial site, MAXTERRA® cement panels have provided another opportunity to do more with what is already available. By utilizing the existing framing crew, Raglin was able to simplify trade coordination and keep construction moving, helping deliver real time and cost savings for the developer.
As The Railyard progresses toward completion, the project offers a practical example of how modern, high-performance materials like MAXTERRA® cement panels can help mixed-use and multifamily construction crews rethink conventional flooring assemblies and find efficiencies beyond the material itself.
Currently in progress, the project is expected to be completed by April 2027.
Explore more projects built with MAXTERRA®.
MAXTERRA® underlayment accommodates tile, vinyl, carpet and hardwood flooring when installed according to the applicable installation requirements. Surface preparation and adhesive selection depend on the finish. For tile applications, follow the MAXTERRA Backer Board installation instructions.
MAXTERRA® structural floor panels and structural wall sheathing are non-combustible under ASTM E136. MAXTERRA underlayment is fire-resistant, with an ASTM E84 Flame Spread Index of 0 and Smoke Developed Index of 0, meeting the Class A interior finish classification documented in ICC-ES ESR-5192. These material properties are distinct from an hourly fire-resistance rating, which applies to a complete tested assembly.
Sound performance depends on the complete floor/ceiling assembly. ICC-ES ESL-1645 documents tested airborne and impact sound performance for MAXTERRA structural subfloor and underlayment configurations. The design team can use those assemblies to evaluate the selected framing, floor finish, ceiling and any sound mat against the project’s acoustic requirements.
Yes. MAXTERRA® is the only MgO product with an EPD verified for the North American market. Its third-party verified declaration reports environmental impacts from raw material acquisition, transport and manufacturing. Design teams can download the EPD to review product data and support environmental reporting and material selection.
Yes. MAXTERRA® Structural Floor Panels can replace plywood or OSB subflooring and gypcrete underlayment with a single structural layer attached directly to wood or steel joists. This is a separate product from MAXTERRA underlayment. Any additional acoustic layers depend on the selected assembly and the project’s sound requirements. Trafalgar Homes chose this approach at ALPS Cleburne to eliminate gypcrete and simplify the subfloor installation.
Yes. MAXTERRA® Structural Floor Panels can be installed directly over cold-formed steel framing. In fact, MAXTERRA® has its own dedicated two-hour UL-listed floor/ceiling assembly: UL Design H531, built around MAXTERRA Structural Floor Panels and cold-formed steel framing.
Considering MAXTERRA for your next project?
Explore the Skip-the-Gyp™ application guide to compare underlayment and single-layer structural floor options.