NEW ALBANY, Ind. (WDRB) -- A historic church in downtown New Albany is about to be resurrected.
The congregation at Centenary United Methodist Church relocated to Park Christian Church Disciples of Christ on Green Valley Road. Southern Indiana developer, Form G, will turn the historic church into 52 new apartment units.
“When you're in the historic district, you have to go and submit a COA, a certificate of appropriateness, with the historic preservation group,” New Albany Redevelopment Director Josh Staten said. “They look at it and say ‘yes, this is something that fits in with the characteristics of downtown. It is something that we think would continue to move New Albany forward in a lot of different ways.' So they've already got approval there. They've got approval through the Planning and Zoning Department.”
Some of the apartments will be inside the church, while others will be in a new building built in the church’s parking lot.
“This is a project that's moving quite quickly,” Staten said. “It's a project that should start construction here pretty shortly.”
Construction is scheduled to start this spring, and the apartments are expected to be completed by spring of 2021.
The Breakwater apartments opened in recent years about a block away from the church. Stephanie Fornter, the owner of a nearby florist, Buds in Bloom Floral and Gift, said she has seen an uptick in walking traffic and business. She hopes bringing more people to live downtown will continue to be good for business.
Construction on the Lancaster Lofts will start soon, and luxury condos are going in near City Hall.
“This is just another piece of the downtown renaissance of New Albany scene,” Staten said. “We have a lot of restaurants going in. Rec Bar is about to open up just down the street from here. They chose New Albany over a lot of places they could have gone.”
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