City council votes to save the former Baptist church

GRUNDY CENTER – At Monday night’s meeting, the Grundy Center City Council was faced with two potential courses of action for the former First Baptist Church: write the Derelict Building Grant with a goal of demolishing the former First Baptist Church, or rehabilitating it. After much discussion, the council ultimately came to an agreement that the city would write the grant with the hopes of rehabilitating the property.
“I’m the economic vitality chair for Main Street Grundy Center, and when I first heard that the city was talking about tearing it down, I said ‘hallelujah, let’s burn this thing to the ground,’” said Erica Allen. “But after going to other Main Street communities and seeing how some of those rougher, old buildings had been fixed up and started producing tax revenue for the city, I saw that the same thing could happen here in Grundy.”
The old church, which has been an eyesore for the people of Grundy Center for years, was recently designated to Preservation Iowa’s list of “Most Endangered Buildings.”   
This designation doesn’t mean that the city couldn’t still tear the building down, but as Main Street Iowa business specialist Jim Thompson said, it means that “the state will now be watching.”
For the full story, including Main Street Iowa's suggestions for the property, read the February 18 edition of The Register.