A city commission moved forward with a plan for the reconstruction of a cathedral on the University of Wisconsin campus.

St. Paul’s Cathedral, at 723 State St., adjacent to the Presbyterian House apartments, would be rebuilt entirely new under a proposal in front of the city process, and the old cathedral would be demolished.

The presentation was first made to the Landmarks Commission because the Pres House building is a designated city landmark. From there, the proposal went to the Urban Design Commission, where it was voted down.

“Madison has allowed architecture diversity, and we hope that this body continues welcoming the role of architecture diversity in their community, and in this case, diversity that is consistent with our environment,” City Attorney Ron Trachtenberg said.

Bob Krupa, one of the designers of the proposed cathedral, said the lower level of the building would be the student center, above that would be the chapel and sermon area and above that would be an educational area.

“This is an organization that has been here for over a century,” Krupa said. “This architecture says this is an organization that is here to stay, and is moving into the next century.”

Randy Milbrath, the other designer of the proposed cathedral building, said the architectural team feels the architecture is reflective of the building’s identity as a Catholic organization.

“We have an obligation to come back to UDC and explain how the architecture works,” Milbrath said. “The design we’re showing is the way St. Paul’s wants to go.”

Krupa said they would strive to keep construction off of Library Mall, as it is a very populous area.

Krupa said the new cathedral would bring more activity and life to the mall because there would be a coffee house, meeting room and study area in the student center of the building.

Many UW students, most part of St. Paul’s community, came to show their support for the new design, saying it would provide more room for them to hold meetings and study.

UW junior Kendra Yule said St. Paul’s has become her family. She said the community at the church is a very important part for all those within it.

“It’s really, really beautiful, and it’s time we had a building that reflected that,” Yule said.

UW junior Nicholas Checker said St. Paul’s offers many opportunities to a large group of Catholics. He said the space is not currently adequate to cater to all its members.

He said the way churches are built affects the way people worship, and he believes the proposal for the new church would assist students in their need to worship as they desire.

Ald. Scott Resnick, District 8, said the process of discussing the cathedral began many months ago, with Resnick being brought into the discussion in March 2011.

He said the neighbors were not initially comfortable with the proposal, but said those neighbors, namely the Pres House, have reiterated that for their mission to work, everything in the project has to go together.

“This is something here today at least for the neighbors, particularly the Pres House and those in the neighborhood,” Resnick said. “This is for that scale a satisfactory project and result.”

The Plan Commission voted to approve the plan, which will now go back to UDC for consideration.