Concept review: University Baptist Church and adjacent student housing plan wins broad support; board requests refinement of base materials and corner treatment

The University Impact District Review Board reviewed a conceptual redevelopment that includes a new mixed‑use building associated with University Baptist Church and a connected Lane Avenue student housing package. The board generally supported the proposal’s goals—repositioning the church’s presence on High Street, activating the corner, and providing public art and amenity space—but asked the design team to reconcile the base materials and the tower massing.

American Campus Communities and the design team outlined a linked plan that includes a nine‑story Lane Avenue building and a High Street building containing the re‑imagined University Baptist Church entry and public interior 'porch' that the team intends to read as a semi‑public space. The overall redevelopment proposes 839 beds across the projects with approximately 246 units and a four‑story parking structure that provides roughly 300 dedicated spaces for the larger Lane Avenue building; 40 spaces will be available to the church at key times.

Designers described a heavy masonry base with cast‑stone elements framing large curtain‑wall openings that lead into a green, porch‑like interior for the church. Board members praised the intent to animate High Street and the double‑height entries but expressed concern about the way the masonry "ribbon" and cast‑stone banding interact with upper level metal panels. Several members recommended making the base feel lighter or more transparently glazed so the interior porch reads from the street; others suggested simplifying the material palette so the base and tower read more cohesively.

Members also asked the team to provide a more detailed landscape and lighting plan, identify locations for public art (the team said they planned to include public art panels along the alley and east Lane frontage), and confirm whether any variances would be needed under ZoneIN (the team said they did not anticipate variances for the nine‑story proposal). The board said the conceptual moves were positive and asked the team to return with refined material details, demonstrated transitions between brick and panel systems, soffit and recessed lighting specifications, and a clearer approach to the High Street corner treatment. No vote was taken; the board encouraged the team to continue design development with the requested clarifications.