Development continues in DC.
This article raises some important questions when gentrification offers a lucrative offer to a small church.
A Boom Giveth, and It Taketh Away
Here are some excerpts from the article:
When Church of the Rapture sells for $10 million this year, the Pentecostal storefront on the corner of 14th and T streets NW hits the jackpot. Pastor Theresa Garrison always says that God channels his wishes through her, and when He said, “Sell,” it was near the peak of a commercial real estate boom on 14th Street. . .
To the outside world, the church is a mystery, a big slab on the corner with double-parked cars. When drums and organs are bringing the congregation to a boil, sometimes the muffled fury and sharp cymbals seep from the building, causing a man to pause one night outside a prayer service and ask, “Is that a jazz club?”
Lawrence Guyot walks the sidewalks of Shaw, watching as small black businesses and institutions are replaced by real estate development and the whims of newcomers. “There is a total avoidance of the value and history of the people we are dealing with,” says Guyot, a community activist and former member of a Ward 1 Advisory Neighborhood Commission. “How many people in that area put themselves in mind of the parishioners? What does it do to you, when a church, the place you worship, vanishes? It’s not just another building.”
Guyot knows the story line is not that simple. The church struck a lucrative deal and is ready to go. “What’s the best way to exit with grace and aplomb?” Guyot asks. “Millions of dollars is the answer.”
What would you do if you were in their shoes?
This is a tough question.
What happens when the church goes and expensive conds move in and the neighborhood is left behind?
This is a curse and a blessing.
It would be interesting to follow the church and how the church stewards the money.
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