A church in Lebanon that sustained damage in an electrical fire in 2017 will be rebuilt—but in a new location. Once the new location is chosen, the old church will be sold.
The Lebanon City Council recently said it supported rebuilding the Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church, but on property owned by the city, several blocks from where the church has stood for over 100 years. The relocation means church leaders will not be able to move forward with plans for construction near Pleasant Square Park, so those plans have been abandoned, at least for the time being. However, Karen Schaeffer, the pastor of the church, said they still hoped to develop a multipurpose facility to benefit the entire community.
Scott Brunka, the city manager, said the city will start writing a development agreement to enter into with Pleasant Square LLC, which is the corporation the church formed to address legal concerns. Brunka added that city staffers will issue another request for qualifications, looking for developers for a single-family home project on Mechanic Street. Officials dealing with complex and on-going issues like this can use flyer printing to create a letter updating neighborhood residents on the matter.
Last year, city staffers started working with leaders of the church, who presented a proposal to not only rebuild the church, but also develop a business incubator, community center, and single-family homes near Pleasant Square Park.