The Vineyard Christian Fellowship of Evanston lost a bid for its Ridge Avenue property due to delays in securing the church’s new property in southwest Evanston, Vineyard’s executive pastor said Tuesday.
Vineyard entered into a contract in late February to purchase the former site of Shure, Inc., at 2401 Brummel Place, which allowed the church to begin accepting offers for its current property at 1800 Ridge Ave.
The church has received bids for the Ridge property throughout the past two years, but the hold-up cost the church one offer from a joint venture partnership that split up, said the Rev. William Hanawalt, the church’s executive pastor.
The partnership made an offer in December but was no longer interested when Vineyard finally sealed the contract for its new location, he said.
Hanawalt said Vineyard will be accepting bids for the Ridge property until the end of the month and that at least 10 groups have toured the facilities in the past couple of weeks.
“There have been more than 30 valid inquiries in the last two weeks,” said Jonathan Swindle, Vineyard’s real estate broker. “Over the last four years, the church has received over 10 offers. None of them transpired because (Vineyard) had not found a new place to move.”
Swindle declined to identify any of the interested parties, including the joint venture that dropped its bid.
A number of the bids have come from condominium developers and office users, Swindle said.
The Ridge property was at the center of a six-year lawsuit between Vineyard and the City of Evanston before the parties settled last summer, giving the church $350,000 and the right to hold religious services on the property.
Vineyard filed suit against the city in 1998 after a zoning dispute prevented the church from conducting services at the Ridge site. U.S. District Court Judge Rebecca Pallmeyer ruled last March that the city’s claims violated Vineyard’s first amendment rights to free speech and equal protection.
But by the time of the settlement, the congregation had outgrown the Ridge property and was searching for a new facility, Hanawalt said. Vineyard currently holds its services at Evanston Township High School, 1600 Dodge Ave., and will continue to do so until the fall at least, he said.
The Evanston Planning and Development Committee imposed restrictions on the former Shure, Inc., property during its March 22 meeting. The committee asked the church to repair the parking lot, fix the landscaping and establish traffic guidelines before it could relocate. A final decision will not be made until the Evanston City Council’s next meeting on April 13. The church plans to remodel the Brummel building to include an auditorium for services.
“Our hope is to purchase the property at the end of June,” Hanawalt said. “We’re excited about the possibility of being able to move to a larger facility at Shure. I hope the high interest the (Ridge) property has had in the past couple years will lead to a bona fide offer.”
