Homewood planning commission approves Samford University Bulldog District amendment, forwards to city council

The Homewood City Planning Commission voted on May 6 to approve a development-plan amendment from Landmark Development for Samford University’s Bulldog District and forwarded the case to the Homewood City Council for final action.

The amendment covers two residential components — West Village (two apartment-style buildings totaling about 872 beds) and Stadium Village (about 220 beds and roughly 70 parking stalls) — plus below-grade and replacement parking. Landmark Development said the project is intended to help Samford meet its undergraduate residency requirement and reduce commuter traffic on city streets.

Commissioners heard a public comment from Rebecca Vaughn, a neighbor at 453 Lakewood Drive, who said the neighborhood already experiences heavy cut-through traffic and speeding. “I can sit on my front porch at 03:15 in the afternoon, and I have counted almost a hundred cars right after each other,” Vaughn said, adding that the Cornelius Drive intersection is “becoming a dangerous intersection.”

Jeff Polishek, AVP for construction and operations at Samford University, told the commission the university has about 6,200 students, with just over 4,000 undergraduates and just under 2,000 graduate students. Polishek said the university requires 75% of undergraduates to live on campus and that recent enrollment growth means new housing is needed to meet that policy. He said the housing opening this fall adds roughly 650 beds, bringing on-campus bed counts to about 3,100 this fall and to about 4,100 if the Bulldog District proposal is completed. “We have this would be our fifteenth consecutive year of growth,” Polishek said.

Landmark Development’s representative described the Bulldog District as focused on creating a modern, amenity-rich student residential environment and noted design changes — including “finger” building elements — intended to reduce the visual and neighborhood impact along Lakeshore Drive. The developer said the traffic analysis for the project did include the Bulldog District and concluded that returning commuters to on-campus housing would remove a large number of daily trips from city streets.

Commissioners asked about construction logistics, parking and the Cornelius Drive intersection. The developer said the project would replace existing parking and provide a net gain of about 600 parking stalls after replacement. On construction sequencing, the developer said ongoing, concentrated construction on campus — about $300 million in projects — has required experience managing traffic and pedestrian circulation and that staff is confident contractors can maintain student circulation during work.

After discussion, the commission approved the case and voted to carry the item forward to the city council. The roll call recorded affirmative votes from Commissioners Harwell, Henninger, Andress, Gulas, Broadhead and Armstead. No nay votes or abstentions were recorded during the meeting.

The case will now be scheduled for Homewood City Council consideration. Neighbors who testified urged the city and applicant to address Cornelius Drive safety and peak-period cut-through traffic as the project proceeds through design and permitting.