Land formerly occupied by the Episcopal Center at UGA’s chapel, at 980 South Lumpkin Street, has been transformed into an active construction site for The Wright House, a 123-bedroom dormitory-style student housing complex.
The official groundbreaking ceremony was held Monday, April 26 with Episcopal Bishop Robert Wright, the complex’s namesake, in attendance along with representatives from Studio BNA and Grahl Construction.
First proposed to the Athens-Clarke County Planning Commission in 2017, the project has finally begun taking shape following approximately four years of delays.
Referred to previously as “The Episcopal House” when first proposed in 2017, the complex will consist of traditional dormitory amenities including shared kitchens, onsite parking, and bicycle storage. The complex will also include a fitness facility; a less common amenity for dormitory-style housing.
The Wright House will have four above-ground levels, one mixed-level floor, and underground parking to accommodate for the sloped nature of Lumpkin Street. Additionally, the complex will be equipped with a rooftop amenity on the third level overlooking Lumpkin Street. Most uniquely, the complex will include a worship area to replace the demolished Saint Mary’s Episcopal Chapel.
Although the complex will house a place of worship and carry the name of Episcopal Bishop Robert Wright, it will not be an exclusively Episcopalian housing development and will be open to those practicing or not practicing other faiths.
The Wright House, although uniquely positioned as a dormitory-style complex with an in-house place of worship, joins an already crowded number of under-construction student housing developments in Athens including The William, The Mark Athens’ Phase II, and Collegetown Properties’ Target Lofts and Milledge Oaks. However, The Wright House is the first student-housing complex to be located within the bounds of the University of Georgia campus while others have been constructed adjacent to its borders. Construction is scheduled to be completed prior to the fall 2022 matriculation.
