A new three-story office building may soon be built between Slack Road and University Avenue after the Oxford Planning Commission approved a special request Monday to allow for a taller retaining wall on the property.

The future building will sit on just under an acre of land in the Tallahatchie Oxford Baptist Association Subdivision. The developer, Charter Hospitality, plans to construct a 13,866-square-foot office space and needed permission to build a retaining wall higher than what city rules normally allow.

City guidelines typically limit retaining walls in front yards to 4 feet in height. But the steep slope of the property made that difficult. The developer requested a variance to allow a wall up to 6.73 feet high along the University Avenue side of the property — about 2.73 feet higher than the standard limit.

Planning staff explained that the land presents several challenges. The lot narrows from 162 feet wide on one side to just 62 feet on the other, and the elevation changes significantly from one end to the other. University Avenue sits 15 to 20 feet above the site, and Slack Road drops roughly 12 feet along the edge of the property.

Due to the steep terrain and the unusual shape of the lot, staff determined that the taller retaining wall was necessary and would not negatively impact the surrounding area. The wall will face inward toward the site and be hidden from public view by the building itself.

The commission approved the request with several conditions. The developer must follow the submitted plan, combine six smaller lots into one, and receive final site plan approval for the office building.