The Abridged version:
- An application to the city of Sacramento shows plans for an event space and 12 hotel rooms at Pioneer Church, a historic Midtown property that was listed for sale earlier this year.
- The church’s congregation, whose origin dates back to 1849, hosted its last service inside the church at the end of May.
- City records show more than $23,000 in pending fees, which were due Aug. 15, tied to the application. An online notice shows the fees are due by Aug. 24 to avoid the submission being voided.
An application submitted to the city of Sacramento suggests a fate different than faith for the historic Midtown church across from Sutter’s Fort.
The filing shows plans for an event space and 12 hotel rooms, indicating some amount of demolition and alterations to an existing historic landmark at 2700 L St., where Pioneer Church has stood for a century.
The congregation, which dates back to 1849 — well before the Midtown church was built in 1926 — listed the property for sale earlier this year, citing its declining membership and the cost of maintaining the large building.
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The building was said to have been in escrow, but records do not show the sale has closed, according to the Sacramento Business Journal. Turton Commercial Real Estate shows the property listed for $3.2 million.
Available information from the city does not detail who submitted the application nor the extent of the proposed changes.
City records show more than $23,000 still owed in fees, which were due Aug. 15, tied to the application. An online notice shows the fees are due by Aug. 24 to avoid the submission being voided.
The site plan and design review submission for the church, designated a historic landmark by the city, is required before applying for a building permit, according to the city.
Sacramento’s oldest congregation?
The church’s congregation hosted its final Sunday service at the end of May, suspending future services while continuing to “discern its future place of worship,” according to the Pioneer Congregational United Church of Christ’s website.
When announcing plans to list the church for sale earlier this year, Rev. David Bocock told Abridged by PBS KVIE the congregation was hopeful they would find an investor who would allow them to stay in the building, or another church space to share with another congregation.
The United Church of Christ, the Protestant organization affiliated with Pioneer Church, has seen a drop in membership for decades after peaking in the 1960s.
