Feb. 12, 2004
1910-era church building hits market
Wanted: Buyer who will preserve and use facility to improve area
DOUG SMITH

One of Plaza-Midwood's enduring landmarks -- the church building at Central Avenue and Hawthorne Lane -- is for sale.

Both the owner and the real estate listing agent would like to see it preserved and used perhaps as a restaurant, coffee shop, art gallery or condominiums.

"It's breathtaking to walk inside -- just spectacular," said Wayne Jernigan, who has operated a recording studio there for about eight years. "I hate to even think about it being torn down."

He has listed it for sale at $850,000 with The Nichols Co.

"We've had a few people look at it for a studio," said broker John Nichols. "A couple of people are interested in redevelopment, but most of those we've talked to want to keep the church (building)."

Jernigan left the stained-glass windows intact and used the building as a satellite facility to his Reflection Sound Studios at 1018 Central Ave. He said he's selling because "the type of business we were doing there has dried up ... and a studio is no longer the best use of that property."

He believes the 6,000-square-foot sanctuary was built around 1910. An annex on the site was constructed later.

Jernigan said the building was occupied by a video production company when he bought it.

The congregation of what's now Central United Methodist Church outgrew it and moved about 35 years ago to a new building on Albemarle Road.

Few church buildings become available on the commercial real estate market, and that rare opportunity should give buyers incentive to convert them to another use, Nichols said.

In uptown Charlotte, for example, the former First Baptist Church building was transformed into Spirit Square arts center, and the burned-out shell of the First Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church became the McColl Center for Visual Art.

In Dilworth, the original home of Dilworth United Methodist Church at Cleveland and Worthington avenues was refurbished in 1999 for Bonterra, a white tablecloth restaurant and wine bar.

Jernigan said his church building at 1201 Central Ave. -- "if used in the right manner" -- could encourage more development in the business district along Central, where government leaders are encouraging revitalization.

In the past 10 years, for example, the county has opened a new library branch at Central and The Plaza, and the city has spent $1 million on new sidewalks and crosswalks of brick pavers and Victorian-style street lamps.

The council expects to vote next week on new rules that would require developers to build pedestrian-friendly projects that front the street and preserve the neighborhood's character.

The new regulations include more on-street parking, crosswalks, trees, benches and pedestrian-level street lighting.

Nichols said that under the proposed rules, the church building could be converted to units in which people could live or work.

The office annex building could be demolished to create more parking on the 0.38-acre site, he said.

Nichols said Jernigan also will consider leasing the building -- if it remains a recording studio -- at an annual rate of $16 to $16.50 a square foot.