Nearly three years after the building sold, the former First Baptist Church on Seventh Street North is set for a major revival.
The city council on Tuesday approved a recommendation from the planning commission to rezone the building from single-family residential to community commercial, clearing the way for the 195-year-old church to be redeveloped into a multi-use complex.
Vince Rapisarda, who purchased the property with his business partner Scott Wagner in May 2022, said the renovations will start with converting the church’s former day care center into a 15-apartment complex complete with a gym and outdoor recreation area.
“We’re going to push getting these apartments built,” Rapisarda said. “I hope to have them finished in two to three months at the most.”
The church is one of the city’s oldest, and its sanctuary dates back to 1908, with other buildings like the day care and a classroom building have been added over the decades. The First Baptist Church congregation voted to sell the property in 2005 in preparation for moving to its current facility on Bluecutt Road.
Since purchasing the 81,000 square-foot building in 2022, Rapisarda said it has primarily served as a venue, now known as Seventh Street Centre. The sanctuary is used for weddings, funerals and other services, and there are two additional event rooms that stay in demand. Classroom and office spaces are also rented out by churches and businesses, he said.
While he plans to retain the venue spaces and leave the sanctuary untouched, Rapisarda said he wants to transform the property into a place where people can work and live. The corporate apartments will be fully furnished and geared toward professionals traveling to work in the area who need a short-term lease, he said.
“There’s a huge need for it,” Rapisarda said. “When I list one of my other (corporate) apartments downtown, I get 20 people wanting it. I’m constantly turning people down that are coming to town that are looking for corporate housing.”
For amenities, the apartment complex will include a new gym, and the playground outside will be converted into a recreational space with a pickleball court for residents, Rapisarda said.
Then the renovations will start in other parts of the former church.
“I’m going to start revamping floor by floor after these apartments are done and … hopefully get a lot of office space rented (and) classroom space,” he said. “Once it starts getting more people in there, I want to convert the first floor where we’ve got the kitchen (into) a cafe or restaurant or something.”
Rapisarda said work at the church can begin in as soon as two weeks.
Ward 5 Councilman Stephen Jones told The Dispatch some residents in the area were concerned about the property, which is in Ward 5, going downhill if Rapisarda sells it, prompting Jones to ask the developer at Tuesday’s council meeting how he would prevent that from happening.
Rapisarda assured the council he won’t be going anywhere. Having recently retired, he said he plans to work full time on developing the block on Seventh Street North where the church is located, including possibly purchasing more property.
“As long as it stays the type of structure that he implied that it would be, I think it would be great,” Jones said. “It’s a great area. It’s within walking distance to the downtown. … I think whoever moves there will probably love it.”
Rapisarda told The Dispatch he was grateful for the planning commission and council’s support.
“I think the city’s finally realizing they’ve got to work with people to get that downtown developed,” he said.
McRae is a general assignment and education reporter for The Dispatch.
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Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 33 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
