Auburn's campus will soon lie in the shadow of another apartment and retail building.
A new 75-foot building, known in planning documents as 191 College, is proposed for the corner of Glenn Avenue and College Street, where the Chevron gas station currently is. It will also have frontage on Wright Street.
Forrest Cotten, planning director for the City of Auburn, said it will be similar to another mixed-use building across the street. He said it would have 127 units housing 465 beds. The building will also feature two levels of underground parking.
Cotten said there is a demand for student housing downtown, according to market research studies conducted by the city.
"They are meeting a need for students," Cotten said.
He said student housing is different from normal apartments because the bed-to-unit ratio is higher, meaning it is more common to see four- and five-bedroom apartments. He also said bedrooms and living areas are smaller.
"Purpose-built student housing is its own animal," Cotten said.
Cotten said the building's height, the maximum allowed in downtown Auburn, has been a source of contention. He said they measure building height on the highest point of the grade, or the ground the building is on. He said that is why buildings could look taller than the 75-foot maximum; because someone is looking from a lower point of the grade.
Cotten said he compared the building height maximum to that of other similar college towns.
"Seventy-five feet height seems to be a height that's kind of in the middle," Cotten said.
Anna Solomon, member of the grassroots group Keep Auburn Lovely, said her main concern with another large building downtown is safety. She said she is worried about the increase in bikers and pedestrians downtown.
"I think we have traffic concerns; I think we have safety concerns," Solomon said.
Solomon said there are also safety concerns because of the number of complexes so close to each other. The Jackson, also known as The Parker, is being built at the corner of Glenn Avenue and Wright Street, across from the College Street development.
"Is our fire department even ready to handle two apartment complexes that have 450 people in 75-foot buildings?" Solomon said.
Linda Dean, Keep Auburn Lovely member, said one of her main concerns with the new building is it would block iconic views, such as Samford Hall.
"It is a crucial part of the town, and it's apparently not important to our leaders right now," Dean said.
Dean said the new developments have already affected the town, even though they haven't been built yet.
"The town is deeply disturbed by the prospect of this happening," Dean said. "There's a lot of anger in the community. It's divided the community. It's created an unhealthy climate for a town that has always pulled together."
Dean, a lifetime Auburn resident, said this division is a new experience for her.
"I've never seen the community divided like this over anything, ever," Dean said.
The property should be used to fill a need and enhance downtown Auburn, according to Dean.
"I travel over there to work every day, if I need gas, I'm going to pull into [the Chevron] and get gas," Dean said. It's a needed thing. A big student housing complex right there is not a needed thing."
She also said she is concerned with traffic at the "major artery" of Glenn Avenue and College Street.
However, Solomon said there are some positives to the new buildings.
"I do like that there's going to be retail in these apartments," Solomon said.
The building plans initially had a space for amenities on the first floor, something not permitted by right in the Urban Core district the building is located in. However, Cotten said he noted on the plans that they should move the amenities.
"They're aware that they're going to need to deal with it," Cotten said.
Solomon said it is important for Auburn to be "vibrant," while maintaining some of its small-town charm.
"You only have one small downtown area, and that should be protected," Solomon said.
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