Convenience Big Store: Historic Fifth Ward church may soon be torn down for apartments

May 22, 2024

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Yasmeen Khalifa, Audience Engagement Producer

yasmeen.khalifa@houstonchronicle.com

Best of the Bayou

Today we're talking about a historic Fifth Ward church that may soon be torn down for apartments...

If you read one thing: Fifth Ward's historic Pleasant Grove Missionary Baptist Church — and its iconic dome seen from the highway where I-10 crosses U.S. 59 — may soon be demolished to make way for an apartment community.

Why would it get demolished?

The Houston Housing Authority has taken ownership of the grounds, public records show. In April, it solicited bids to demolish and remediate the site, which an environmental study has found to contain asbestos and lead.

The Houston Housing Authority's ownership arrangement will make any future development tax-exempt, but the authority said the exact number of units and their affordability still need to be determined.

"We are currently evaluating a number of options, considering community needs, to determine how best to develop the property," said the authority's chief executive, David Northern Sr. Chris Senegal of Invictus Development Group, which originally purchased the property from the church before selling it to the authority, said the HHA planned to use the development to replace nearby public housing units that will be torn down as part of the I-45 expansion.

How has the church responded?

Pleasant Grove Missionary Baptist Church has temporarily relocated services to 6900 Weaver Road while it builds a new church, according to its site.

According to county records, it is downsizing from its 6.7-acre site just outside downtown to a 1-acre site outside the Loop in Trinity Gardens. The church has not commented on the move.

What is the history of the church?

Founded in 1872, the church is a longstanding community landmark. It has hosted prominent figures, including civil rights legend Martin Luther King Jr., Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan, and then-Texas Gov. Rick Perry. It has also housed those displaced by storms and freezes.

Read R.A. Schuetz's full story here.

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Photo by: Susan Barber

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— Yasmeen Khalifa