[MassHistPres] Church Re-Use

[slater at alum.rpi.edu]

Thanks for the responses to this thread. I ordered the booklet "How to
Organize a Preservation Development Charrette", hopefully I'll learn
something from it.

Unfortunately, I didn't quite get the answer to my question, and it
looks like it could be too late in the game. There has been talk that
the church has been purchased with an eye to tear it down for a
drive-through type development. The Springfield Historical Commission
has no legal control over the structure, and the property is already
zoned for business so there is little municipal recourse. 

My original question was "how do we catalyze the reuse of a church". The
problem is that there does not appear to be any demand for reuse -- and
I was looking for a method or technique to drum this demand up. 

I'd be curious to know WHY some of the church reuse projects happened.
It's certainly a more difficult road to take than demolition. Was it
because of LHD inclusion? Was it because of someone undertaking a labor
of love? Was it because of government incentives? Was it because of
significant opposition to the demolition?

Ralph Slate
Springfield, MA