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1. Dan Palmer, Troy says:

   June 25, 2012 at 8:53 am

   It seems that cities in upstate are finishing the job started in the 50’s.

   The more economically desperate these cities become the more of these great ideas – demolish good buildings to build temporary sheds when there are vacant lots in every neighborhood in the city that need to be filled but are not the “low hanging fruit” that old buildings, especially churches, represent to property owners and developers – will be proposed…and approved.

   We are feeling the early effects of a smoldering wildfire of greed, desperation and ignorance that threatens to rend unlivable those pockets of the old city that urban renewal and modernism left untouched.

   The grandchildren of the “experts” who ruined our cities after WWII are now the experts in charge, and see what they have learned: to put the occasional arch on the crappy new buildings being built…progress.

2. Jason Haremza says:

   June 25, 2012 at 9:42 am

   I’m very conflicted about this building. On the one hand, my default position is almost always preservation. On the other hand, if we thought it was hard to get a deep-pocketed corporation to spend money we all know they had on a neglected brewery building in a spectacular setting, it will be much much harder to get a small scale local property owner to spend money he probably doesn’t have on a neglected church in a mundane stretch of West Main Street. Of course, he could sell it to someone with resources and vision to restore and re-use, but is that someone out there?

   Also, unlike the brewery, which we only have pieces of another one, we have dozens if not scores of historic religious buildings in the city, the majority of which are suffering from deferred maintenance and owners with minimal resources. Unlike, say, old factory buildings, religious structures do not often lend themselves to easy adaptive reuse. Yes, we can all point to examples in Toronto where churches have become condos, but when Rochesterians are willing to pay Toronto prices, then perhaps developers will start to do those conversions.

   I’m not advocating for Family Dollar. All I am saying is that preservation is complicated and there are no easy solutions. At the end of the day, SOMEONE, whether public, private, or non-profit, has to spend money on these buildings. Our current system of identifying, prioritizing, and processing preservation cases is not serving the community well.

3. RochesterSubway.com says:

   June 25, 2012 at 3:29 pm

   I think our property tax rate should be variable… the more improvements you make to your property the lower your taxes. Conversely, the more you allow your property to sink into disrepair the higher your taxes go. Is that un-American?

   Anyway, here are two recent cases (both in New Hampshire) of residents resisting Dollar General and fighting the demolition of historic properties…

   In Marlborough, the Zoning Board denied a request for a special exception to allow demolition of a 150-year-old building to be replaced by a 9,100-square-foot Dollar General.

   And in Winchester residents are challenging a zoning board decision to allow demolition of a 200 year old house.

   And more thoughts from New Hampshire here.

4. exJebbie says:

   June 27, 2012 at 8:59 pm

   Isn’t there already a Dollar General on Main Street…across the street from this church? Does the community really desire this store in this location? It’s hard for a municipality to deny a landowner the opportunity to “exploit” their property. However, the first crappy idea isn’t the only one. Perhaps with more effort, and some outreach into the community, other ideas might come forward. Lastly, the Dollar General format is ugly, cheap and disgusting. It cheapens a neighborhood. The City should consider that too.

5. CJ Grimes says:

   August 9, 2012 at 5:04 pm

   I grew up in this church when it was the Bibleway Healing Temple through the 80’s and late 90’s. This place has so many memories that come to mind and such a rich history. Unfortunately when Bibleway moved to it’s new locating in Henrietta, NY the location began it’s demise. The building was well maintained and in decent shape for it’s age. I’m reminded of the many Saturday’s that we held car washes and other church fund raising functions just to keep up with the large cost associated with this building.

   To see this building be demolished for yet another chain store would be horrible. The history alone should allow it to stand. The neighborhood is yet another one of Rochester’s poorer areas and not too many residents will seem to care what happens either way. It’s my hope that the place be reconditioned and turned back into a house of worship.

6. RochesterSubway.com says:

   November 28, 2012 at 3:33 pm

   UPDATE: You can speak out against the demolition of the church at 660 W. Main St. tomorrow at City Hall.

   The Zoning Board Public Hearing begins at 9:30am. But the church demolition / Dollar General case could begin anytime between 10:30 and 11:30. Be smart and arrive as early as possible.

   See you there.

7. dbaman says:

   March 23, 2013 at 6:22 pm

   http://www.houzz.com/ideabooks/8135857/list/Houzz-Tour–An-1898-Church-in-Wisconsin-Finds-Resurrection

8. RochesterSubway.com says:

   March 23, 2013 at 9:31 pm

   @dbaman… OMG! That church is stunning! Thanks for the link.

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