Campus-area former church bought for $5.1M ahead of demolition

COLUMBUS, Ohio ( WCMH ) — An out-of-state developer bought a former church with plans to raze it to make way for student housing.

On Oct. 1, Chicago-based UP Campus Properties purchased several plots on East 16th Avenue, including the site of a former church. The $5.1 million investment marks the next step in a student housing development proposal that’s been in the works for over a year .

According to building plans, the five-story complex would house more than 300 residents in 78 units. Preliminary floor plans show a parking garage, lobby, fitness center and “clubroom” comprising most of the first floor. Second floor sketches show around 20 rooms on each floor, holding between two and six beds apiece.

An existing two-dwelling unit is already located at 102-104 E. 16th Ave., and zoning applications show the company would not demolish this existing unit in favor of folding it into the new development. Several zoning variations — including a decrease from 339 parking spots to just 96 — were recommended by the University Impact District Review Board in April and passed by the zoning board in July.

Summit United Methodist Church closed in June 2022. That September, Ohio State architecture professor Kay Bea Jones wrote a letter urging the city to preserve the church because its interior was designed by award-winning architect Edward Sövik. Jones pointed to internal details, like a bright red organ, stained glass and swooping ceilings, in an attempt to preserve the building.

The church is set for demolition, but developers said architectural components of the building would be repurposed and preserved in the new complex.

UP Campus also has support from the church itself for demolition. The Summit’s former pastor, Allyssa Graves, wrote a letter of support in March alongside property neighbors.

“The useful life of our church facility has expired,” Graves wrote. “Replacing our property with high-quality housing is the highest and best use for this property and will be a great addition to the neighborhood.”

The construction joins other student housing plans emerging in the University District, including a 183-unit that will replace the Bier Stube , a long-standing dive bar that closed its doors in late September.

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