The red-brick building that housed University Baptist Church on Lane Avenue for nearly 60 years is now a pile of rubble. On Thursday, excavators tore into the facade and cleared debris from the site, opening up a key parcel that is slated to become part of a long-planned mixed-use student housing complex along the High Street corridor. For a proposal that has lived mostly on paper for years, the demolition is the clearest sign yet that it is shifting from design reviews to actual site work.
As reported by Columbus Underground, the project is led by Austin-based American Campus Communities and will feature two connected buildings: a 12-story tower on the former church site and a nine-story building on the current Little Bar parcel, tied together by a pedestrian bridge. The first floor of the High Street building is planned as a dedicated space for the University Baptist congregation, which is currently meeting nearby. The developer says the project is in its final permitting and site-prep stages, although it is not yet sharing a full construction timeline.
Long-Running Proposal Finally Kicks Into Gear
The development was first floated in 2022 and has since been through multiple design tweaks and public reviews as zoning rules and neighborhood priorities shifted around it. WOSU reported last year that the University Impact District Review Board repeatedly pushed back on elements of the plan, even as changes in the city’s ZoneIN framework opened the door to taller and denser projects along High Street. City planners say the intense demand for housing near Ohio State, combined with the corridor’s existing density, has encouraged developers to pitch larger, student-focused complexes.
What the Plans Call For
Documents reviewed by Columbus Underground show the Lane Avenue tower programmed for about 198 apartments with 694 beds, while the High Street building is drawn for roughly 48 units with 151 beds. In all, the project clocks in at around 246 apartments and 845 beds, not exactly a small footprint for the neighborhood.
The Lane Avenue building is planned with indoor and outdoor amenity space centered on a shared fifth-floor deck, along with a fitness center, lobby space and ground-floor retail. A multi-level parking structure is included to serve residents. Although split between Lane and High, the two structures are designed to operate as one cohesive complex built around student housing amenities.
Timeline and What’s Next for The Little Bar
Architects and developers previously told neighborhood groups that work would start with the church parcel, with The Little Bar and several nearby homes to follow, all timed around the academic calendar. The Lantern reported last fall on proposed demolition dates, lane restrictions and a projected two-and-a-half-year construction schedule, noting that the bar’s owner said a lease remained in place into the spring. Neighbors should expect lane shifts and access changes as the city and the developer settle on a maintenance-of-traffic plan.
Neighbors and Businesses
Local coverage has highlighted the tradeoffs that come with replacing a longtime neighborhood church and small businesses with a sizable student housing project. Early stories captured regulars’ unease as the plans moved ahead. When the proposal first surfaced in 2023, 614Now spotlighted The Little Bar as a campus favorite and framed its uncertain future as a signal of shifting priorities on High Street.
For now, only the church site has been cleared. The full construction schedule and the date when the bar parcel will be demolished are still to be announced by the developer.
