Mike Wolanin | The Republic An interior view of North Christian Church in Columbus, Ind., Monday, Sept. 26, 2022.
A number of civic leaders are applauding the 6-1 decision by the Bartholomew County Library Board to accept ownership of the 60-year-old architecturally-significant North Christian Church.
“I think for this icon of modern design in the 21st Century, there is no better use for it than to become a library,” said Richard McCoy, founding executive director of Landmark Columbus Foundation.
The church at 850 Tipton Lane, which is a U.S. National Historic Landmark on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places, was described by Columbus Mayor Mary Ferdon as a “national treasure.”
“We’re really pleased,” Ferdon said. “It’s a great location for the library, and will benefit many residents and students in the future.”
Disbanded as a church in July 2022, former North Christian members originally handed over the building and grounds to the Columbus Capital Foundation, LLC, library director Jason Hatton said. However, the foundation was always meant to serve as an interim owner until the library board and staff were able to complete their strategic planning process, he said.
“So it is a gift to the library from the congregation,” the library director said.
There is no appraisal of the value of the church at this time, but one will have to be commissioned for insurance purposes, Hatton said.
Ferdon says she’s excited about the adaptive reuse of a building, which is not unlike re-purposing FairOaks Mall for NexusPark. Both projects will benefit the community, Ferdon said.
“Nationwide, we’ve see libraries continue to evolve as they serve the needs of those who use them,” Ferdon said. “There’s still books, but just the technology and programming they provide for kids, adults and seniors is beneficial to any society.”
McCoy, whose organization was involved in early discussions about the re-use, said he wished it would have been a unanimous vote because it would have shown the strength and belief in the project that he believes it deserves.
The sole board member who voted against accepting the church was Stephen Shipley, who said he anticipates a lot of misunderstandings regarding the acquisition.
“A lot of the people from the county I talk to are not exactly excited about this, because the first thing they think of is raising taxes,” Shipley said.
That prompted library director Jason Hatton and other board members to emphasize there are no current plans to raise taxes as a result of accepting the church and grounds.
But Shipley said his biggest fear is that North Christian will overshadow efforts to establish a library branch south of Haw Creek in an area traditionally called “East Columbus.”
When the library board begins an effort to place a branch on the city’s southeast side, “I don’t want people to look back and say we shouldn’t have poured so much into North Christian,” Shipley said.
Ferdon said she has been involved in early discussions regarding a library branch on the southeast side, adding she believes it would be great for the community when and if it is approved.
But in addition to the church and grounds, the Bartholomew County Library will also receive approximately $900,000 from an endowment that the late Columbus philanthropist J. Irwin Miller placed in his will prior to his 2004 death. Miller was considered one of the most prominent founders of North Christian Church.
“The endowment is more for the operating costs as we raise up our dollars and ease into operating expenses as we bring (the church and grounds) into our normal budget,” Hatton said. “Once again, we are not planning on raising taxes.”
In 2019, the church was the recipient of a $150,000 grant from the Los Angeles-based Getty Foundation for architectural conservation. McCoy said that money led to a nearly 500-page document that the library could use immediately to guide the board and to make value-based decisions on what can be altered on the national historic landmark – and what cannot be changed.
“We could not be in a better position to inform the library on how to best to use this property,” McCoy said.
A number of board members brought up concerns such as acoustics for performances, the lack of outside sidewalks, a layout that does not meet ADA guidelines, and a complex heating and cooling system.
However, many of the board members said they came to the conclusion that the library will be able to afford to address those challenges.
“There is a perception out there that this building is a big money pit,” board member Michael Wilkerson said. “I think we found that’s not true. This facility has been lovingly taken care of, and I hope we can convey that to the community.”
Now that the board has voted to accept the church and property, Hatton said the library would begin to use the outdoor grounds “almost immediately,” including for activities for the library’s much-promoted summer reading program.
