Grace Church plans to create a new youth ministries center in downtown Greenville.
The new center will be located in the two-story building at 50 S. Richardson St. across from the church’s downtown campus. Grace Church recently purchased the building and the front parking lot from Accente Group Inc. for $3.5 million, according to the Greenville County Register of Deeds.
Reedy Rides, a local bike rental business, currently occupies the building’s ground floor.
Renovation plans for the building were unveiled at the city of Greenville’s project preview meeting on May 27. Adeptus Architecture, a Greenville-based architectural firm, was hired to design the church’s new youth ministries center. W. Barry Agnew, CEO and principal architect at Adeptus Architecture, said the renovated building will serve as Grace Church’s downtown hub, welcoming youth from across the church’s various campuses around Greenville.
“The building’s lower level is going to be ministries for middle school kids, and the upstairs is going to be ministries for high school kids,” Agnew said.
Youth center plans
Each floor will have a large assembly room for presentations, musical performances and other types of youth programming. Smaller breakout rooms, bathrooms, media rooms and storage will also be located on both levels. Additional interior renovations will include replacing the sprinkler system, electrical, heating and air conditioning to bring the building up to code.
A new elevator and a second fire staircase will also be added to the building’s facade. Agnew said they are planning to keep the original ornamental brickwork and restore some of the building’s original windows. The building’s exterior renovation plans are expected to go before the city’s Design Review Board in August for review.
“We will be prepared to submit immediately to the city of Greenville for building permits, and if everything goes well, there could theoretically be a groundbreaking in September,” Agnew said.
The owners of Reedy Rides are currently looking for a new location to move their business. Tate Putnam, co-owner of Reedy Rides, said he felt positive the business will be able to remain in downtown Greenville. He said the lease doesn’t expire for another 15 to 18 months and Grace Church has been very helpful throughout the process.
“While they’re very excited about getting into the space and starting their renovations, they are also understanding of our business and we’re trying to work with them to get things buttoned up sooner rather than later,” Putnam said. “What we want to do is help them get moving on with their next project so that we can do the same.”
