Plan to tear out church upsets some members

WINTER PARK — Bunny Simmerson, a member of First Church of Christ, Scientist, for more than five decades, loves the Greek Revival church building designed by a prominent Winter Park architect.

That’s why Simmerson is vowing to fight a decision by the congregation to demolish the 1958 structure created by James Gamble Rogers II and sell part of the land, which would be developed for luxury town houses.

“That church was born to glorify God and to heal man of sin, death and disease,” said Simmerson, a retired Realtor. “To me, what they’re trying to do is kill that church.”

But the chairman of the church’s executive board, Steve Wennerstrom, said the congregation — like many — was faced with declining membership and an aging building. It was either renovate or rebuild a more modern church that meets current building codes and environmental standards.

The church is taking advantage of its prime location on 2 acres on New York Avenue across the street from the Winter Park Golf Course and next to a 10-unit townhome project under construction on Park Avenue, where half the units already are sold and are fetching between $2.6 million and $3.8 million, said John Pinel, a Realtor handling the transactions.

The Winter Park Planning and Zoning Board is scheduled to hear three requests at 6 p.m. today from Condev Land, which plans to develop the northern part of the property into 16 town houses that will be marketed for $1.8 million to $2.4 million, said Condev President Chris Gardner. Each of the three-story units, to be designed by ACi architects of Winter Park, will contain an average of 3,200 square feet of living space.

Meanwhile, Simmerson and another longtime member, who didn’t want to speak publicly, have been contacting local historicpreservation organizations in an effort to save the church. But the concrete-block and stucco building is not on any historic registers, a demolition notice is already taped to the front door, and the church has posted an announcement on its website about the plan along with a picture of dozens of members who support it.

Proponents say they have been discussing the issue for years and are doing what is required to ensure the church’s survival.

“We support the townhome design and feel that the development will be a good neighbor to us and an enhancement to the city of Winter Park,” Wennerstrom wrote in a letter to the city.

The church includes two other buildings — one built in 1958, the other in 1985 — that house a Sunday school, office and child-care center. They also will be demolished and replaced by a single 7,000-square-foot all-purpose church building on the south portion of the property. The congregation plans to move into a temporary location during construction.

The church has operated a Christian Science Reading Room on Park Avenue downtown since the mid-1960s; that isn’t expected to be affected by the change.

Condev Land is asking the city to amend its future land-use map to change it from indusutrial to medium-density residential,