Heritage Hill church will soon be condos

The congregation that used to worship in the neo-Gothic former home of Bethlehem Lutheran Church has moved its ministries to downtown Grand Rapids, and developers are set to begin the transformation of the beautiful old building into beautiful new condominiums. They say they’re up for the challenge, and the city awaits the outcome.

According to excerpts from the story:

GRAND RAPIDS — The former Bethlehem Lutheran Church at 330 Crescent St. NE is about to undergo a sacred-to-secular transformation, from a place of worship into a residential condominium development tentatively named Renatus on the Hill — renatus being Latin for “rebirth.”

The city approved the building for 16 condos but the current plan calls for 14, Moore said. He said construction will begin yet this winter. Every effort will be taken to preserve as much of the building’s interior and neo-Gothic-style features as possible. The building bears a great architectural history, as well as the personal histories of all its previous members, some of whom had attended the church since the early 1930s, he said.

Read the complete story here.