TUCSON, Ariz. — The Tucson City Council voted on two items related to the Benedictine Monastery Tuesday.
Both items passed unanimously tonight.
One of the items is to designate the monastery as a historic landmark, which was built in 1940.
There are currently 11 historic landmarks in Tucson. If that passes, changes made by the developer, Ross Rulney would be limited. The exterior of the building would remain unchanged, but changes could be made inside.
The other item was whether or not to approve the development that's been proposed right around the monastery. The grounds cover about six acres, with the monastery taking up about two.
What's being proposed are high-end apartments with the tallest being 55-ft tall. Early renderings showed 86-ft apartments, which were taller than the monastery itself.
The Benedictine is in Council Member Steve Kozachik's Ward. He says many people who live in the area wanted the development to respect the size and scale of the monastery, and not be much taller than it.
