The City of Madison Common Council approved a project Tuesday to remodel the Presbyterian Student Center Foundation, or Pres House, on State Street and to build a six-story student center adjacent to the religious center.

According to Mark Elsdon, executive director of the Pres House, the student center would have offices for University of Wisconsin staff on the first floor and the five floors above it would consist of three and four-bedroom apartments. The location of the student center would be where the parking lot of the Pres House currently resides.

Ald. Austin King, District 8, said the project, which would be consistent with the Pres House's vision to serve the university community as a mission of the Presbyterian Church, would be beneficial for some UW students.

"Mission-related housing is somewhere that I would never have chosen to live as a student," King said. "But their existence is necessary and fills an important niche on campus."

Wendy Sue of Sue Associates, the project's architects, said the student center would include 43 apartment units, which would accommodate about 230 students. The new building would also use consistent architecture, she added.

"We want to make sure the adjacent building harmonizes with the existing design of the Pres House," Sue said.

According to Sue, renovation of the current Pres House will also open up the underground coffee house, the Catacombs.

"Right now, the only thing that signals there's anything going on down there is the awning; otherwise, there is nothing," Sue said. "We plan to construct sunken patio to open the coffee house up to people on State Street."

With a number of large-scale apartment complexes offering affordable housing, King said because the Pres House is a non-profit organization, truly affordable housing would be realized in the years after the cost for construction of the student center is paid, and Elsdon said lower rent is a goal for the student center.

"We want to be able to provide housing for students of all income levels," Elsdon said. "The Pres House is all-inclusive and we want our housing to be that way, also."

The council referred the project to the Plan Commission to determine the specific tax-incremental financing concerning the goal of affordable housing.

While the Pres House student center garnered attention regarding financing and affordability, Ald. Robbie Webber, District 5, raised concerns about the planned bicycle and moped parking at the student center.

Sue said the plans provide for 123 bicycle and moped parking spaces, almost tripling the city's requirement of at least one space per apartment. However, if more than 123 residents need to park, the addition of parking spaces on Murray Street and near Library Mall would suffice. The increased bicycle and moped parking on Murray Street and Library Mall is a part of the Campus Master Plan, according to Sue.

Webber said she believes having residents park in these other areas would decrease the limited parking available to State Street patrons.

"There is already a deficiency of bicycle parking on State Street," Webber said. "Not providing enough spaces for every resident would only act to make it even more difficult to park your bike on State Street."

Webber expressed her general concerns about the city's practice of not providing enough bicycle parking spaces to apartment buildings.

"If we were talking about a parking lot for cars, we would require enough spaces to accommodate every resident of the building," Webber said. "I think we should treat bicycles the same way. This is a student-housing facility, and I believe we should provide enough spaces for every resident of the building."

In approving the project, the council passed an amendment stating the student center must provide enough bicycle and moped parking to match or exceed the number of bedrooms in the residence hall.

The council also referred the refinancing of the Overture Center to Oct. 18.