Mostly sunny. A stray severe thunderstorm is possible. High around 100F. Winds ENE at 5 to 10 mph..

Scattered thunderstorms during the evening. Partly cloudy skies after midnight. A few storms may be severe. Low near 75F. Winds ESE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 40%.

Groups tour the building. The Wright House invited the public to its open house on June 11, 2022, on South Lumpkin Street in Athens, Georgia. (Photo/Sidney Chansamone, @sid.chansa)

Food and refreshments are available. The Wright House invited the public to its open house on June 11, 2022, on South Lumpkin Street in Athens, Georgia. (Photo/Sidney Chansamone, @sid.chansa)

Groups tour the building. The Wright House invited the public to its open house on June 11, 2022, on South Lumpkin Street in Athens, Georgia. (Photo/Sidney Chansamone, @sid.chansa)

A large crowd entered The Wright House , a future living space and Episcopal center for the University of Georgia, on June 11 for the building’s first open house before the fall semester.

The Wright House, named in honor of Bishop Robert C. Wright , will act as both the new Episcopal Center at UGA and also as a 123-bedroom student-housing facility for UGA students. The new building is located on the corner of University Ct. and South Lumpkin St. Although it is considered to be an off-campus facility, it lies in the center of campus near Oglethorpe House .

The facility features amenities for its student residents including individual bedrooms and bathrooms, a parking area underneath the building, an on-site chaplain, a chapel and counseling services for residents. 

Although the building is owned by The Episcopal Diocese of Atlanta , any UGA student can be a resident of the facility and have access to all of its amenities. The building is intended to be an intentional community where residents can form friendships and bonds.

UGA Episcopal campus chaplain Clayton Harrington will be the on-site chaplain for The Wright House community and has worked as the campus chaplain since 2018. Harrington is excited to be in the position and wants every resident to feel welcome regardless of religious beliefs.

“I’m going to let residents know during the move-in. You don’t need to be an Episcopalian or a Christian. I’m always here if you need someone to talk to or somebody to listen,” Harrington said.

The project has been in the works for nearly a decade with the Episcopal Diocese of Atlanta and in negotiations with UGA for nearly seven years before a deal was struck and approved in 2018, according to The Wright House co-developer Lang Lowrey.

The project began construction in 2020 and is still currently in the works, although developers aim to be ready for the building's opening prior to the fall semester. The construction process was marred by the COVID-19 pandemic, which caused delays and raised the cost of the project from $15 million to $20 million, according to Lowrey.

Lowrey is looking forward to seeing residents begin to move into The Wright House this fall and form a close community.

“I think students are going to find a really cool community environment here,” Lowrey said. “We will have a lot of events for them. There are going to be a lot of intentional community programs for them too.”

The open-house event began at 4 p.m. with construction workers giving out tours to attendees. Since the building is still under construction, the attendees wore hard-hats and safety vests for safety in the construction zone. Along with tours, The Wright House workers also gave out free t-shirts and pens and offered refreshments to guests.

Food and refreshments are available. The Wright House invited the public to its open house on June 11, 2022, on South Lumpkin Street in Athens, Georgia. (Photo/Sidney Chansamone, @sid.chansa)

After multiple tou rs were given, the large crowd of attendees were led into the chapel. An opening prayer was followed by discussions about the building, the construction process and the Episcopal community.

Speakers at the open-house event included Athens mayor Kelly Girtz , Bishop Wright and Harrington. Nikki Mathis also spoke to the crowd about The Wright House Foundation , which is designed to give financial aid to UGA students who may not be able to afford to live at The Wright House. Mathis is the foundation chair and collected donations from the crowd after her speech.

The program ended with a closing prayer. The crowd was invited to go get more refreshments and stick around. Tours of the building resumed and attendees slowly started to exit the open-house, with the event wrapping up just before 6 p.m.

Harrington hopes that a great family will form at The Wright House once it welcomes its first residents and believes the community will offer students support to help them succeed in college.

“We are happy and excited to be that extra layer of support for students,” Harrington said. “We are just hoping that people here not only have a place to live, but a place to succeed and grow into the people that God made them to be.”

The Wright House will be opening this August with its first residents set to move in on Aug. 15.

The Wright House, a student living facility, held its first and only open house on June 11, 2022 in Athens, Georgia. The building is set to fi…

The Episcopal Center located at 980 South Lumpkin St. began demolition on March 15 with a plan to build student housing and a worship area in its place.

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