Church buys 8 acres in Raleigh

"This city has blessed us, and we hope to bless thecity," lead pastor Tyler Jones said. "Having a firm root here is a great privilege for us, loving the city as much as we do."

Church officials are working with a local architect on a site plan, and they hope to break ground in about 18 months, Jones said. Tentative plans are for the site to include multiple buildings and plenty of parking, with facilities to be used by the community during the week and by the church on Sundays.

Founded in 2002 above a restaurant downtown, Vintage21 has grown to three meeting sites: All Saints Chapel in East Raleigh, 117 S. West St. in the Warehouse District, and at Motorco Music Hall in Durham. The church began looking for property three years ago, Jones said, and started raising the money about two years ago. Services now held at All Saints are expected to move to the new site when construction is complete.

Congregation members say the new site is meaningful both as a sign of growth and as a symbol of potential.

"It will give more people a place to come to hear about Jesus, which we believe will mean more people's lives being changed to bring hope, joy and peace - all the things we believe bring meaning to life," church member Rachel Gross said.

Other local churches have taken advantage of drastically reduced demand for real estate in a depressed market.

Lifepointe church paid $1.2 million in June for a 5-acre tract on Durant Road in North Raleigh. Holy Trinity Church, a 6-year-old congregation, paid $695,000 last year for a 1.5-acre parcel along Peace Street in downtown Raleigh. And Summit Church in Durham paid $9.5 million for 23 acres near Miami Boulevard and Alexander Drive.

Local real estate broker Peter Rumsey of Prudential York Simpson Underwood Realty said a church's impact on its surrounding neighborhoods depends on the church's vision for the site.

"It could be constructive or it could be destructive, depending on parking, location and what kind of services they provide," Rumsey said.

Vintage21 Church officials want their new facility to fit in with the rest of the neighborhood architecturally, Jones said, and to have ample parking.

Right now, the property's community use is in the brainstorming phase. Everything from urban farming to a grocery store has been suggested. Jones said the church is looking to partner with other community service groups in the area to make the site as effective as possible.

"We hope to look at it almost as North Hills has done, make it a multiuse property that we can use to do something to help the community," Jones said.

Staff writer David Bracken contributed to this report.