Boston University unveiled designs Wednesday for a sleek new 250-seat theater on Commonwealth Avenue that will be the new hub for performers and artists on campus.

Renderings of the theater show a lobby area framed by large glass windows and steal beams, with a green plaza out front. The space will be a primary teaching studio for the university’s theater arts program, said Walt Meissner, associate vice president for operations at BU.

“The building will have a state-of-the-art theater with maximum flexibility because it allows for teaching in all kinds of formats,’’ Meissner said.

It is scheduled to open in fall 2017.

The plans were unveiled just days after the university signed an agreement to sell the BU Theatre to an investment group. The $25 million sale includes the 890-seat playhouse, which the Huntington Theatre Company has called home for more than three decades, along with two adjoining buildings on Huntington Avenue.

The sale will enable BU to build the new facility. Located on the 800 block of Commonwealth Avenue near BU’s College of Fine Arts, the building will house costume, scenery, and paint shops, as well as design studios and offices, Meissner said.

“Long term, the university really wants to develop a program on that side of the campus that is arts-related,’’ he said. “It could potentially be a really great space with a lot of vitality and enliven that side of Commonwealth Avenue.’’

Initial designs were unveiled two weeks ago at a meeting with the Brookline Planning Board, Meissner said. The first advisory design team meeting is set for March 30, and will address traffic, parking, and other community concerns.

Finding a way to balance modern designs and the historical architecture will also be a focus, he said. The new theater is being designed by Elkus Manfredi Architects of Boston.

Mina Corpuz can be reached at mina.corpuz@globe.com. Follow her on Twitter @mlcorpuz.