Sunday, November 22, 2009
Baptists might leave downtown Blacksburg
Christian Trejbal
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From the RoundTable blog
Blacksburg Baptist Church has been a fixture at the north end of downtown for more than five decades.
It might be gone before another decade passes if the town maintains the integrity of its historic district. The growing church needs town permission to demolish historic homes they own on Progress Street and to move the public alley that divides the block.
The church owns almost the entire block bounded by Main, Progress, Turner and Faculty streets. That includes the main church property on Main Street as well as all but one of the houses on Progress. It has an option to buy the last property whenever it wants.
These days, the congregation is outgrowing their facilities. The church holds four Sunday services and runs programs throughout the day and into the night all week. Parking is tight, and meeting space is even tighter.
It looks to get worse, too. The congregation continues to grow, attracting members from Christiansburg and beyond, and it will soon lose parking across Main Street. The church uses the Virginia Tech parking lot on Sundays, but Tech plans to build a performing arts center there. A replacement parking deck is too far away to serve churchgoers.
Therefore, the Baptists want to build. They envision a new church, Sunday school, meeting and recreation space, and parking, maybe even a parking garage of their own.
The town historic district, which stretches down Progress, stands in the way. Most of the buildings the church owns on Progress are contributing historic structures. That means the church may not tear them down without town permission.
The Baptists sought demolition permission from the Historic or Design Review Board a few years ago.
"We didn't think that was a great idea," John Bush said. He is the long-time historic board chairman and an incoming town councilman.
The board worried that the church's plan would disrupt the historic continuity of the community. In addition, new parking would bring significantly more traffic to the residential neighborhood on Progress.
That leaves the church in a tough spot.
"Everything that we've needed to do to stay down here has been zoned out of our reach," Pastor Tommy McDearis said. "If [the town] really wants us to stay here, do away with the historic district on this side of the street."
The Main Street half of the block, which includes the church itself, is not historic. The Baptists have more flexibility there, but they want to work with the entire block in their planning.
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They had considered suing under the Religious Land Use and Incarcerated Persons Act, but concluded they would not likely prevail. They also considered legal action to gain control of the alley, but have so far chosen not to pursue that course.
"The last thing we want is a really bad relationship with the town," McDearis said.
With few options left, the church congregation last week voted to negotiate purchase of the Givens Farm on the north end of town. It has about 120 acres, more than enough space for the church.
Whether they would retain the downtown properties depends on costs, according to McDearis. There is a good chance the congregation would sell its current home to help pay for acquisition and construction at Givens.
Mayor Ron Rordam hopes that does not happen. "The church is an anchor for that neighborhood and an anchor for that corner," he said.
He believes it diversifies a part of town where bars are more the norm and acts as a buffer between Tech and the neighborhood.
He hopes the town and church can find a compromise that would keep the Baptists downtown, but he concedes that will be impossible until the church comes up with a concrete proposal it is willing to share with the town.
Compromise seems unlikely, though. McDearis insists the historic district is an overwhelming barrier, and the town appears committed to it.
"Churches in general are not good neighbors in terms of tearing houses down and building concrete and pavement parking lots," Bush said.
"It's about setting a process in place that will transcend individuals and help to protect the town's historic resources during a rampant building and development phase."
Allowing the church to encroach into the district would set a terrible precedent against preservation. Everyone who wants to tear down a historic structure can come up with a compelling story, but once a historic building is gone, the town has lost something forever.
This is not a dispute between faith and history. It is a request from a property owner. The Baptists in this case are a business like any other. The town should afford them no special treatment.
Besides, if the Baptists stage an exodus, so what? The church sits on premium, Main Street property across from Tech's future performing arts center. It would sell quickly and profitably. If another church looking to expand does not gobble it up, Tech seems a likely buyer.
If a commercial developer buys it instead, so much the better. It would not be the first old church in Blacksburg to house a business. Cabo Fish Taco is in the historic downtown Presbyterian Church. In addition, private ownership would bring valuable land onto the tax rolls.
