The city’s Plan Commission rejected a plan to demolish two Langdon Street neighborhood buildings for a new student housing development in its Monday meeting, citing concerns about safety and maintaining the historic district.

In February, the city decided to demolish some older buildings contributing to the historic register in favor of a newly-proposed apartment complex, Ald. Ledell Zellers, District 2, said.

“The elephant in the room, the Iota Court project, should not be seen as a precedent [in this situation] and should not be used as a precedent to other projects in this area,” Zellers said.

Mark Smith, from architects Joseph Lee and Associates, proposed the plan to demolish the buildings at 622 Howard Place and 632 Howard Place to build a new apartment building for students, The Sophia. Lake Towne Apartments owns both buildings and would also own the newly proposed building.

The Sophia would have 33 units intended for student use, with “reasonable” pricing, Smith said. He said his team has designed the building specifically to fit the unique needs of the small space where it would be located and to address the historical aspect of the area.

“So, this design is absolutely for this site and no other,” Smith said. “It is intrinsically locked into this site and this place in material, scale, style.”

Smith said engineers had investigated the standing buildings on Howard Place, and said both buildings have so much damage they would soon need to be rebuilt anyway. He said he also had numerous conversations with city staff and officials on the demolitions of the building.

Smith said the buildings in question on Howard Place would cost more money to maintain than to demolish.

“Basically, these two buildings are old,” Smith said. “They have very poor foundations … and the cost to repair these would be more than reconstructing the building from brand new.”

However, commission members expressed serious concerns about the demolition, as the two buildings are located in a national historic district. The new building would also pose serious safety concerns, as it would be a relatively large building in a small, cramped space, City Planner Heather Stouder said.

Fred Mohs, an advisor for the Chi Psi fraternity located across the street from the property, said historic buildings need constant upkeep, and most normal buildings need constant reinvestment.

“Notre Dame would have been gone in the 13th century by the standards of the architect who just spoke,” Mohs said.

Officials were also worried about the fire department’s ability to reach the would-be building in case of emergency. Stouder said because The Sophia would be a five-story building, in contrast to the three-story buildings typical in the area, the angles of the building do not easily lend themselves to firefighting or rescue crews.

Commissioners recognized the flow of “controversial projects” in the historical district may not stop any time soon, with new building proposals.

“I think we will see other projects in this area in the next few years, and those projects are likely to be controversial as well,” commission member Brad Cantrall said.

The commission also approved plans to build a pool on the roof of the previously-approved building at 633 N. Henry St. and to add balconies to the building at 140 Iota Ct.

The Plan Commission will meet again on January 13, 2014.