The Episcopal Diocese of Atlanta filed for a permit Thursday to tear down its University of Georgia student center—known as the Hodgson House—at 980 South Lumpkin Street.
The diocese wants to build a new, larger student center with additional parking and dorm rooms, said Robert Salamone, the rector at Emanuel Episcopal Church.
“In all honesty, that house is uninsurable. It’s not in a historical district,” he said. “Let’s try to do something good on that corner.”
The house was built in 1940, according to tax records, but it also shows up on a 1918 map, according to the Athens-Clarke County Planning Department.
Amy Kissane, the executive director of the Athens-Clarke Heritage Foundation, noted that Lumpkin Street is home to a number of religious institutions that cater to students.
“So, historically, this seems significant that Lumpkin was the site of these institutions and Lumpkin also represents a transition between campus and Five Points —you have a mix of uses and building types from institutional, to churches, to apartments to residential,” Kissane said. “The house looks like it is architecturally intact and has not been changed much, so of course I would prefer to see it repaired and preserved rather than replaced.”
There are no concrete plans for the new student center yet, but Salomone said he expects it to happen sometime in 2015. The new center will be more inviting for Episcopalians and non-Episcopalians alike, he said.
“I think we’re all looking forward to expanding our ministry in that area,” he said.
In other news, Salamone said Emanuel is opening a thrift store in the small white house next door to the UGA president’s house on Prince Avenue. The church previously ran a thrift store in the shopping center at the corner of Prince and Barber Street that was torn down to make way for Emanuel’s expansion.
Update: Pete is adamant that this is not Five Points and is on campus, but I’m not sure it’s actually technically on campus, so we changed the headline. DO NOT BE MISLED.
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