For the casual observer that drove past the brick house and well-groomed yard beside Simpson Creek Baptist Church on Philadelphia Avenue, it may have come as a surprise to see an excavator laying waste to the structure in recent weeks. For Brad Harris, the associate pastor at the church, it was no surprise at all.

 

In fact, for those who thought the house was too good to be torn down, Harris said it was torn down for more than just plans for future church expansion. The home, he said, was in a state of disrepair.

 

“(The church) bought the home a couple of years ago. The house was inspected and it was determined that the foundation was not only unsound, but the house was beginning to cave in,” said Harris. “It actually would have cost more to fix the foundation than the house was worth.”

 

Even had that been considered, other issues more than forced the church’s hand. As a result, the home was recently demolished.

 

“There was a water line break that ruined a lot of the inside of the house. The ceilings in most rooms had dropped off onto the floor and the wood floor had buckled. On top of that, there was a mold issue to deal with,” said Harris. “There was a much different look inside the house as compared to the outside.”

 

Prior to the demolition, Harris said a project was done to remove asbestos from inside the home. He said the amount was minimal, but still added to the issues with the structure.

 

As of the middle of this past week, contractors had leveled the structure and were busy – by Tuesday – filling in the large hole where the home’s basement was once located. By the time everything is complete, a lot of roughly a quarter of an acre will be vacant beside the church complex.

 

Harris said a committee has been working for a while to determine what to do with the property. He said that the group sees a new building on the lot – not attached to the existing building – that would house a multi-purpose room, Sunday school classrooms, a kitchen and general space to provide a larger fellowship platform.

 

“That’s what the committee would like to do,” said Harris. “We still have to get approval by the church before anything is finalized, but that’s the direction we’re headed in.”

 

Editor's Note: Simpson Creek Associate Pastor Brad Harris shows the lot where a church committee is putting together a plan for a new building to house various actitivies pending church approval.