[MassHistPres] Church Re-Use

[Burks, Sarah]

I would say that the reasons for re-use of church buildings in other communities could be several. In Cambridge, the existing church buildings often occupy more of the lot and thereby capture a greater floor area than would be allowed with new construction. The community outcry to demolition and attempts at stopping the project through lawsuits would certainly be something to be avoided if possible. And there is inherent value in the design of the churches. It's hard if not impossible to build a new building like that with the cost and limited availability of some materials, level of craftsmanship, cost of labor, etc.

Many communities are in need of large spaces that can be used by the community for things like community centers, art galleries, etc. but the money and support have to be there to take on that type of change of use, especially when the commercial buyers are at the ready. I would second the comment that the easiest and best re-use would be another church congregation. If the building isn't officially on the market, other church groups might not be aware that the building is available. Get some publicity in the paper and get the word out to churches, residential developers, innkeepers, artists, community groups, etc.

Sarah Burks

-----Original Message-----
From: masshistpres-bounces at cs.umb.edu
[mailto:masshistpres-bounces at cs.umb.edu]On Behalf Of slater at alum.rpi.edu
Sent: Wednesday, November 21, 2007 3:15 PM
To: masshistpres at cs.umb.edu
Subject: Re: [MassHistPres] Church Re-Use


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
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