HP Presbyterian Church Renovation Moving Forward
University Park City Council members are scheduled to consider a detailed site plan in early August that could propel Highland Park Presbyterian Church’s 15-year in the making renovation project to the next step.
EDIT: Since publication, we’ve received a copy of the detailed site plan. It is embedded below.
The city’s planning and zoning commission unanimously approved in July a detailed site plan that would allow the church to demolish a structure on its University Boulevard property to construct a three-story building above an underground parking lot that will hold 135 parking spaces.
Preliminary site plans, which were highly contested among neighbors who feared the redevelopment would overstep the church’s footprint and demand the closure of a popular thoroughfare street in the neighborhood, underwent several revisions over the years to get to this point. The preliminary plans were approved by council in June.
The city’s attorney said he and church officials are hashing out a developer agreement that will include information about the closure of Shannon Lane for the duration of the proposed 24-to-30-month project, utility line upgrades, and a host of other housekeeping details.
Currently, it is unclear who will pay for utility line upgrades, but Steve Mace, the city’s communications director, said the 45-year-old lines have experienced multiple failures over the years.
Mace added that a need to replace the main had been identified by staff.
A parking lot on the east side of the church’s property near Williams Park will serve as a construction staging area.
The detailed site plan notes that one tower crane will be housed next to the soon-to-be-demolished Hunt Building located on the corner of Shannon Lane and University Boulevard.
