MILWAUKEE — Unity Lutheran Church in Milwaukee's Bay View neighborhood is considering a redevelopment plan that would replace its existing building with a four-story building containing 55 apartment units and a smaller worship and ministry space.
Pastor Kevan Penvose says declining membership, falling revenue, and urgent structural repairs have made redevelopment necessary.
"We are only using half the building. The original church basement only gets used for storage, and in the education wing, the second floor is really not usable,” said Penvose.
According to Penvose, the church has several leaks and needs a new roof; multiple windows must be replaced; asbestos tiles are coming up; and lead paint is peeling off the walls. These are repairs the church says it can't afford.
"We are at a point where the expense of rehabilitating and abating the asbestos and lead gets so expensive that it is actually more feasible to seek investment for a new building," Penvose said.
The initial plan is to lease the land to a developer who would demolish the existing church and construct a new mixed-use building.
"The developer would be responsible for paying the newly created taxes. Right now this whole plot of land is tax-exempt," said Penvose. "It would help the congregation with a new revenue stream through that land lease... not income through the residents' rent."
Penvose said apartments represent a redevelopment option that could serve the broader community.
"With all the luxury and high-end apartments going up, and recently we are seeing a lot of construction of affordable housing, so we are seeing a pinch in the middle," Penvose said.
He says the apartments would be small and considered 'workforce housing.'
"Workforce housing starts at 80% of the area median income and typically targets professionals such as teachers, police officers, firefighters, nurses, so that’s the idea of building a community right here on our site," said Penvose.
Not everyone in the congregation supports this plan. Lynn Rinderle has attended Unity Lutheran her entire life and lives near the church.
"We are sort of embedded in the community in this neighborhood," Rinderle said.
She is the church's outreach meal coordinator and helps feed up to 200 people every Wednesday.
"Meeting our guests and sitting and talking to them... they become family," she said.
Rinderle understands the need for redevelopment but opposes this particular plan.
"When it got to the 55-unit apartment building, I was not on board at all. I just reject the idea of that being a good thing for our congregation and really not a good thing for our neighborhood," Rinderle said.
The church sits on a corner lot in a residential section of Bay View, close to single-family homes and duplexes.
"This is a small footprint; it's not very big, so the only way to accommodate 55 apartments is to go up," said Rinderle
She raised concerns about increased parking demand and added traffic.
"The traffic will be an issue because we already have very heavy traffic on Oklahoma Ave and we can’t accommodate the traffic we already have," said Rinderle.
"We are looking at a potential plan that would definitely have sufficient internal parking to get residents here off of street parking," said Penvose.
She's also worried about the future relationship between the church, property management, and apartment residents.
"This developer might not be long-term. A new investor might have different ideas about rental costs; they could go up. Parts of the building we could access might change," said Rinderle. "I could be wrong about this, but if people rent apartments and we are bringing in 200 people every Wednesday… is that going to be okay with them?"
Penvose wants the possible new worship space to be visually reminiscent of the existing sanctuary.
"We have members alive who donated money to have these [stained glass] windows designed and installed. We want to keep the windows if there is a new space, keep the wood beams, the wood interior, and have a high ceiling," said Penvose.
Penvose says a new building would contain improved ministry spaces and be more accessible.
"Our ministry would not only continue, but have enhanced spaces. One of our biggest needs is that this building was constructed before the Americans with Disabilities Act, and we need to make our spaces accessible for everybody," said Penvose.
Rinderle distributed a flier to neighbors about the possible redevelopment and urged them to provide feedback.
"If the community wanted to help us suggest what to do with that space, what would really help our community, and if they would take ownership of helping us find funding for it, that would be the best-case scenario," Rinderle said.
The church is seeking input from congregation members and neighbors. A meeting is scheduled for Sunday, September 13, to hear community feedback.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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