The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
CHURCH PURCHASES SCHOOL BUILDING
Life Point Church to move into former Brentmoor Elementary School
Life Point Church in Mentor will soon be moving into a permanent home, after purchasing of the former Brentmoor Elementary building on Route 84.
Mentor Public Schools transferred the title of the building to Life Point Church on June 20, according to CFO Daniel Wilson.
The school district had held a legally-required public auction early this year, in which Life Point was the sole bidder.
The bid was rejected by the school board and so the building was then allowed to be sold privately. Life Point then purchased Brentmoor through private sale for $600,000.
“We were in the process of listing (Brentmoor) for sale,” Wilson said.
“They reached out to us to ask if they could submit a new offer to purchase. So we dealt directly with them prior to engaging a real estate broker to assist with the other properties (Rice and Garfield Elementary).”
The three elementary schools were closed following the 201718 school year. Currently, Mentor Public Schools is in the process of privately selling the former Rice and Garfield Elementary buildings, following unsuccessful public auctions.
Brentmoor, located at 7671 Johnnycake Ridge Road, had been mostly empty and unused prior to being sold.
“The building had already been vacated and was not being used for any school purpose,” Wilson said. “By the time we had accepted their offer to purchase, there were very minimal additional things we had to do — typical transferring of utilities, disconnecting the security system — the basic things...”
Life Point Church is a non-denominational church which is currently located in the A Wing of Mentor High School, 6477 Center St.
Pastor Ken Wright said that the church recently hired a consultant/developer to help determine how the new facility at Brentmoor can be best utilized.
The building was chosen in part due to its location in the “heart of Mentor.”
“We’re looking forward to having a permanent place,” Wright said, adding that the church had sought a new location for about three years.
For the past five years, the congregation has met in Mentor High School for services. About 450 people attend Life Point Church and Sunday services usually see around 350, Wright said.
The Brentmoor Elementary building was constructed in 1954 by the school district, according to officials. Wright highlighted that the church hopes to make upgrades to the existing building.
Having the new facility will “allow us to take the next step,” Wright said.
“It will help us to continue to grow the church.”