[ASU Diablo]

https://www.azcentral.com/story/news...s/69890238007/

A plan to sell and redevelop a church near downtown Phoenix would secure the congregation some much-needed funds to continue its work in Phoenix, but some community members hope portions of the nearly 80-year-old building can be salvaged. Mercy Hill Church, located near Seventh Avenue and Fillmore Street, is under contract to be sold to Trumont Group, a Texas-based real estate development and investment firm, which plans to raze the existing church building and develop a 122-unit apartment complex on the site. Once the sale is final, the church plans to build a new worship facility on land nearby that the church already owns. The affordable housing units on the existing church site are not part of the redevelopment and will remain in place.

The sale would generate money for the new building and free the church leadership from having a maintain an aging building that has, in many ways, fallen into disrepair. “Buildings are a blessing but can also be a burden,” Anthony Cox, lead pastor at Mercy Hill, said at a community meeting about the church's future. Cox said the church is committed to the community, but the building maintenance and other operations have gotten so expensive that if they do not act soon, they might not be able to stay in the area.

A church in disrepair
The church has been quoted between $2 million and $4 million to restore the church, which has extensive issues from the aging infrastructure, Cox said. On Christmas Eve, a pipe broke, which left the church to foot the bill and some residents who live in affordable housing near the church without water.

A portion of the roof has collapsed in a room that had been long vacated, Cox said. “It’s expensive to continue pouring money into a building that has aged out of its functional use,” Cox said, adding that the church is committed to staying in the neighborhood but cannot use the building in its current condition. The church had previously tried to salvage the building through donation drives and applying for grants, but that did not generate the needed funds. The congregation has been using the church on the site since 1980, after moving from a location near Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport. The church was renamed Mercy Hill in 2015. “The biggest thing for our church is we want the community to know we care about them,” Cox said. “We really are invested and concerned about the needs of the neighborhood.”

Redeveloping the site but preserving the aesthetic
Cox said the church already has an approved demolition permit from the city but wants to wait and work with nearby residents to try to find ways that can make all parties feel better before moving forward with demolition. Trumont Group has been working with the church for a couple of years on a plan to redevelop the site. Plans have gone through several design iterations after community members asked that anything developed on the site keep with the character of the existing brick church, which was designed by Lescher & Mahoney in the 1940s. The church had been for sale for years before Trumont Group became involved, Shane Essert, vice president of Trumont Group, said. The latest submittal from the developer has been modified based community desires to keep the look of the site consistent, he said.

The project is designed for the ground floor units to be “live-work” units, designed for people who work from home and want offices in their unit, Essert said. The planned "carriage house" units also are designed to include artist studios. Renderings for the project incorporate brick arcades and keep the Spanish-style look of the church on the new building, Essert said. Trumont Group is in escrow to buy the building and is planning to close when the site receives zoning approval from the city of Phoenix. Several members of the community have expressed the desire to preserve the church’s bell tower and sanctuary, which are not included in the plans for the new building. Essert said the group is working with their designers and engineers to determine which, if any, pieces of the structure could be preserved, but many pieces of the church are in disrepair.

Members of the community who attended the meeting said the redevelopment will be “precedent-setting” for the neighborhood and urged Trumont Group to preserve as much of the existing church as possible. Several neighbors also expressed concern about the size of the building in comparison to the neighborhood, which is mostly single-family homes that are one to two stories tall.

Vice Mayor Yassamin Ansari, whose district includes Mercy Hill, said her office has been involved in conversations between the church, the developer and community members. When the original plans were first submitted, Ansari said stakeholders all agreed the development needed to fit the neighborhood better. The plans have since been updated to include the brick arches and Spanish-style design. “There have been a lot of changes,” Ansari said. “At the beginning, it was a big soulless apartment building. The second iteration was much better, and after significant feedback, the plan was changed to the Spanish, mission-style.” Because the building does not fit historic designation at the city, the city cannot disburse funds to pay for repair or restoration, Ansari said. “The church and its architecture holds significance for the community, but it does not fit the city’s definition of historic,” she said. Ansari said the downtown area needs more housing, and while the Trumont Group project is not affordable housing, new units will add to the needed housing stock.

The project still needs to receive zoning approval from the City Council. “I think everyone is coming at it in good faith,” she said. “The Grand Avenue neighborhood is very organized and passionate, and the developer has spent a significant amount of time with the neighborhood, doing walking tours with different groups.”