BY ALLEN HOWARD
The Cincinnati Enquirer
Hyde Park Community United Methodist Church has dropped plans to buy every house on the block to expand after neighbors protested. The church at Observatory and Grace avenues will instead study different ways to use the building and the property it already owns. In a letter to members and neighbors last week, the church said it is not going to pursue the plan to buy several more houses in the block bordered by Observatory, Griest, Meier and Grace avenues to expand the church building and parking lots.
In part, the letter dated July 20 and signed by the Rev. Don Dixon, senior pastor, read:
"The bottom line, from your point of view, is that we have determined that there are more immediate solutions to our space needs than buying houses on this block.
"We can do more on our existing property, including better use of our current facility and later construction within the footprint of our property.
"We have changed our original thinking, and no longer hope to purchase every house on the block and erect a complex of buildings." Church member James D. Copens Jr., who heads a neighborhood group called Saving Grace, is skeptical.
He said recent brochures from the church indicate nothing has changed regarding the plans to acquire property, including the allocation of money to a specific "Property Acquisition Fund." Of the property acquisition fund, a brochure states: "This fund assures the future growth needs of the church by providing funding if and when the congregation decides that we should expand beyond our currently owned property."
Mr. Copens interprets that as evidence that the church is not dropping expansion plans.
Craig Miller, church administrator, said the pastor's letter is based on a decision of the board of trustees, reached after a research committee and an alternate site committee made reports.
He said the emphasis is now on making every possible use of the church's current property.
"Future property purchases would be limited to only the two houses closest to us on Grace Avenue, if they were to become available to us," Mr. Miller said. "In the last three months, two houses went up for sale and we didn't buy them. We were approached to buy several others, but we informed them we were not interested." Roberta Peebles of the 1300 block of Grace Avenue supports the new plan.
"It is not in concrete, but I think it will work if everybody choses to go forward," she said.
