A student housing project in Columbus’ University District that has been in the works for years has stalled again.
Texas-based student housing developer American Campus Communities hopes to demolish The Little Bar at 2195 N. High St. to make way for a 9-story apartment tower with more than 800 beds. It would connect to a second apartment building on West Lane Avenue by an elevated walkway on the fifth floor.
The existing University Baptist Church on Lane Avenue would also be torn down as part of the project, but the church would be incorporated into the new high street building.
Renderings show the church on the ground floor, with a cross over a tall entryway and the words, "love is enough," over a set of windows.
Columbus City Council approved zoning changes for the Lane building in July 2023. Council noted that the University Area Commission did not recommend the project for approval at the time.
The High Street building falls under the purview of the University Impact District Review Board (UIDRB), a board under the city's Department of Development.
Developers presented the most recent concept for the project to the board in May, but members didn't vote on it at their June meeting. The project is back on the board's agenda on July 24.
The building at 2195 N. High is one of several proposed student housing towers in the area, as developers look to build up the popular area near the Ohio State University campus.
Columbus Director of Housing Strategies Erin Prosser called the University District the "densest place in Ohio" and said that the area needs new housing to help bring high prices down in the popular neighborhood.
"It is vibrant place where a lot of people do want to live now," Prosser said. "Interest and demand in that area drives up prices even further, right? It's expensive to build new housing, it's complicated to build housing, but as we continue to have people that are attracted to those areas, we have to be able to find places for those folks to live."
She said the taller buildings proposed in the area are the result of zoning changes along High Street through Columbus' Zone In initiative.
"For a long time it was so restricted from new construction that even as the university population grew — both the student population, but also new faculty and staff coming into the community — the housing infrastructure for a longtime just didn't respond," Prosser said.
She added that when developing a neighborhood like the university district, it's important to strike a balance between adding housing and infrastructure and making sure new construction fits into the community well. She said that's the job of UIDRB, which follows a set of guidelines and tries to make sure new projects contribute to "a walkable, enjoyable urban environment."
"So, that's really where they'll assess the project and work with the developer to figure out how best to let it fit well into the fabric of High Street," Prosser said.
