A century-old donated school turns from ‘blessing’ to curse for church
When a concrete slab fell off the wall of his church last year, nearly crushing one of the kids participating in a youth program, Pastor Peterson Mingo knew it was time to move his congregation.
So, when former Bengal and real estate developer Chinedum Ndukwe offered to buy the old Hoffman Elementary School, where Christ Temple Full Gospel Baptist Church has been holding services for more than a decade, Mingo jumped at the chance.
“With what we’ll make off the building, we can pay for a new building and still have more than enough to make any modifications and improvements,” said Mingo, who’s been pastor at the church for more than three decades.
Church is close to a deal
Mingo said he and the church’s trustees are close to finalizing a sales contract with Ndukwe for an undisclosed price. The building in Cincinnati’s Evanston neighborhood has a market value of about $1.4 million, according to Hamilton County property records.
Ndukwe wants to tear down the dilapidated old school at Durrell Avenue and Victory Parkway and build apartments there. He told The Enquirer his preliminary plans call for 86 apartments on the school site plus 155 apartments in two new buildings on the adjacent ballfield.
But the project has been put on hold because of pushback from preservationists and some local residents.
Cincinnati Preservation Association last week filed an application with the city of Cincinnati to have the more than 100-year-old building declared a local historic landmark.
Preservationists want building declared a local landmark
Under the Historic Conservation Legislation that Cincinnati City Council passed in 1980, no demolition or development can take place while a decision is pending, which could take several months.
The preservation association filed the landmark application after consulting with nearby neighbors and members of the Evanston Community Council who oppose the redevelopment plans, according to Beth Johnson, the association’s executive director.
“I was told they didn’t support demolition of the school,” Johnson said, referring to council leaders.
Ndukwe told The Enquirer he had the full support of the council.
Council president James Stallworth
and other members of the community council did not immediately return calls, texts and emails seeking comment.
Johnson said the building deserves a landmark designation, in part, because of its “extreme architectural significance.”
Building designed by firm founded by Samuel Hannaford
Built in 1922, the old Hoffman Public School was designed by the architectural firm Samuel Hannaford and Sons. The architect who founded the firm and is famous for designing Music Hall, Cincinnati City Hall and numerous other Cincinnati landmarks did not personally have a hand in the design of the old school building. He died in 1911.
After years of neglect, Mingo said he’s bewildered by the “sudden interest” in the church property, which Cincinnati Public Schools planned to tear down before it was sold at auction in 2012.
If preservationists had wanted the building when he was soliciting offers last year, Mingo said he would have gladly sold it to them.
“If someone wanted to buy it or had donated the money to fix the building up, we’d roll with that. But nobody stepped forward,” Mingo said, noting the preservation association did not contact the church before filing the landmark application.
Church wants to move from crumbling building
Mingo said he and his congregation just want to move on after years of dealing with costly maintenance and repairs to the crumbling structure, which has relied on wall-hung space heaters and a portable furnace to keep worshipers warm for the past several years.
The boiler for the school’s radiant heating system broke down in 2018 and couldn’t be repaired because parts are no longer made for it, Mingo said.
The pipes that conducted heated water to radiators froze and burst over the winter, resulting in flooding throughout the building, he said. “We had water pouring through the walls. There was flood damage everywhere, and there still is.”
Cost to repair building could exceed a half-million dollars
Estimates to repair the damage and replace the heating system range from about a half-million dollars to $1 million, Mingo said.
The building is insured for $1 million, but the deductible the church would have to pay before insurance kicks in is about $18,000, he said. “We don’t have that kind of money.”
Mingo said he’s been wanting to move
for years because of the deteriorating condition of the building, but his congregation of just over 100 mostly seniors and children simply couldn’t afford it.
The offer from Ndukwe was an answer to his prayers, Mingo said, similar to the prayers that he believes brought his congregation to the building years ago.
The church, which had been leasing the building in lieu of a permanent home, was faced with the prospect of relocating again when the old school building was being auctioned.
Towne Properties founder donated building to church
Then Neil Bortz, founder of Mount Adams-based Towne Properties, bought the building at auction and donated it to the church, Mingo said.
Mingo’s dad worked for Bortz for many years, helping to fix up the properties Bortz first purchased to get his real estate company off the ground more than 60 years ago.
Bortz could not be reached for comment.
But Mingo described Bortz’s intervention as a “blessing” and said he’s counting on divine intervention to once again help him and his congregation achieve their goal of relocating to a newer facility.
“All I can do is pray on it,” Mingo said.