Battling blight: City of Daytona Beach hopes to redevelop vacant Midtown church property

DAYTONA BEACH — The long-vacant church that has stood on the corner of Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and Cedar Street for more than a century has a haunting aura.

The timeworn, hulking edifice is a remnant of a chapter in time that's long since ended. Standing in front of the towering structure, you can almost see women in their fancy 1930s and 1940s dresses and men wearing suits and hats climbing the front steps to worship on a Sunday morning.

Now the city government is hoping to begin a new era on the church site and a few small properties around it.

On Wednesday night, city commissioners unanimously got behind city staff's recommendation to buy the empty Shiloh Missionary Baptist Church and five adjacent vacant properties on Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and Division Street.

The city is sinking $360,000 into the land purchases in hopes of attracting a private developer who will create an African American history museum, affordable housing or a mix of housing and commercial space.

"We have to remember each parcel or project ties into a much bigger plan," said Mayor Derrick Henry. "$360,000 is a lot of money, but it's not a lot of money in the real marketplace. This parcel could bring a much greater return to the community than that cost."

The city will put out a request for proposals, and then wait to see what type of interest there is in the six properties that form an L shape on the corner. Responses could come in within a few months.

"We are in communication with various developers," Phebe Fuqua, a city redevelopment project manager, told city commissioners at their April 17 meeting.

It's the city's latest attempt to jumpstart redevelopment in the impoverished and blighted Midtown neighborhood east of Nova Road, which has struggled for decades to attract private investment of almost any kind. The city has purchased Midtown property in the past without luring the development it had sought, but there's hope this time will be different.

Litany of problems in historic church

City officials estimate it could cost anywhere from $4.8 million to $5.4 million to transform the dilapidated church building into a museum, $4.2 million to $4.8 million to convert the property into affordable housing, and $3.2 million to $3.8 million to create a mix of commercial and residential uses.

The 102-year-old church building at 543 S. Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard is in rough shape. An appraiser wrote in his report that he found mold on some interior walls, water intrusion in the basement, and "areas of the building with ceilings either missing or falling in."

The front steps and bathrooms don't comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act, and the wiring and plumbing probably don't meet current code requirements, the appraiser said.

"Based on my inspection, and considering the mold, extensive renovations and remodeling required, and the functional utility of the structure, I do not believe that rehabilitation of the building to current requirements and adequate condition would be financially feasible," R. Todd Heffington of Heffington & Associates wrote in his 2023 appraisal report.

The Shiloh Missionary Baptist Church congregation moved into a new house of worship across the street in 2007, and it appears the 1922 church has received little or no maintenance and repairs for years.

It's not clear if city officials would be open to the church being torn down. The pastor's small one-story home also stills stands next to the church.

Options for church property

Fuqua summarized the city's vision for different ways the church property could be used. If it becomes a Black history museum, it could include a theater, multi-purpose space and offices, she said.

If it becomes affordable housing, there could be 32 parking spaces and 24 apartments that would either be 400-square-foot units with one bedroom, or 900-square-foot apartments with two bedrooms. Rent could be around $1,100 for the one-bedroom apartments, and $1,400 for the two-bedroom units, she said.

The mixed use development could include retail and restaurants on the first floor, office space and 24 apartments on a second and third floor, she said.

"I was pushing for an African American museum, but we have folks who need somewhere to live," said City Commissioner Paula Reed, who lives in Midtown. "I'm more in favor of (housing) now."

Henry said he likes all the ideas for the land, but added that "our priority as a commission is more affordable housing, and we need to get more people in that area."

Michele Toliver, one of the city's redevelopment project managers, said the city wants to assemble property to redevelop the area and increase the tax base. She said there are other vacant and blighted properties near the church that the city might buy as well.

"Our plans are to change the way we look in Midtown," Toliver said.

City assembling land around Midtown

The money to buy the properties came from the Midtown Community Redevelopment Area Loan Fund. In September, commissioners voted to take out a $6.5 million loan and use the money to spark new development in Midtown.

"It's in our best interest to get moving to entice private development," city Redevelopment Director Ken Thomas said last year. "The $6.5 million is just a project starter. We really need private investment."

Thomas came up with a $13.5 million wish list that provides a general outline of where the money could go.

He suggests spending $3.4 million to acquire commercial buildings; $2.2 million to buy single-family homes; $1.5 million to develop multi-family housing units; and another $1.5 million to rehabilitate business buildings.

Also on his suggested spending list: $1.2 million for a roundabout at Lincoln Avenue and Mary McLeod Bethune Boulevard; $1.2 million to install underground utilities along Mary McLeod Bethune Boulevard and Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard; $1 million to construct new single-family homes; $800,000 for a business incubator to support the area; and $700,000 to rehabilitate housing units.

The suggestions follow the seven main points listed in the Midtown redevelopment plan adopted in 1998. The plan includes things such as assembling property in areas where conditions make redevelopment difficult and increasing the percentage of homeownership.

The city has already purchased Midtown properties to stomp out blight and attract people willing to redevelop the land. One example is a lot at the corner of Keech and Ken streets the city bought.

The city also bought a property on Mary McLeod Bethune Boulevard and removed about 10 boats that had been stored there.

Read more: New dreams possible for Daytona Beach's chronically struggling Midtown neighborhood

The city has also been assembling land on International Speedway Boulevard near Martin Luther King Boulevard.

The city has also been donating lots it acquired to agencies that have agreed to create affordable housing. But the city also wants market-rate housing in the neighborhood to increase the tax base, Thomas said.

You can reach Eileen at Eileen.Zaffiro@news-jrnl.com

This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: City of Daytona Beach aims to redevelop long-vacant church property