HomeNewsMayfair Civic endorses effort to legalize church activities at Devon

Mayfair Civic endorses effort to legalize church activities at Devon

There won’t be a child daycare center. And there won’t be a modern-day version of a soup kitchen. As for parking … they’ve got it covered.

Those were the assurances that Kingdom Life Christian Center Pastor Danette Ray delivered to more than 100 Northeast residents and church members on June 15 as she appealed to the Mayfair Civic Association to endorse her effort to legalize religious services and other church activities at the Devon Theater. After about two hours of contentious debate, residents voted not to oppose the granting of a special zoning exception to the church. Kingdom Life was scheduled to appeal directly to the city’s Zoning Board of Adjustment at a hearing on June 23.

The meeting room at the Mayfair Community Center was packed and divided about evenly among Ray’s followers and largely skeptical local folks. A host of Registered Community Organizations were represented in the crowd, including the MCA, Tacony Civic Association, 55th Ward Democrats, 55th Ward Republicans and the Northeast Quality of Life Coalition. Councilman Bobby Henon led much of the discussion.

“I’ve been to the Devon. I went there when (admission) was a penny. I went there when it was 99 cents. I used to walk there,” Henon said of the landmark former single-screen movie theater, which was built in 1946 at Frankford Avenue and Barnett Street. “My hope (now) is to bring everyone together to benefit the community.”

Ultimately, members of the Mayfair and Tacony RCOs each voted not to oppose the church’s zoning application under several conditions, including the following:

• There will be no child daycare. Rather, the church will be limited to a three-hour after-school program from September to June and a summer camp in July and August. The camp will be restricted to 21 youths.

• There will be no food bank on site. Instead, the church will deliver meals to the homes of the needy. Catholic Social Services will deliver prepared meals to the church, which will coordinate their delivery. The meals will not be prepared on site. Deliveries will be limited to 30 families, with that cap subject to review after one year.

• The church must establish written agreements with nearby property owners for parking. Based on the Devon’s capacity — it has about 400 seats — the church must secure at least 44 off-site parking spots to comply with the city code. An attorney for the church reported that it was working with Rite Aid, STS Auto and Ethan Allen School to secure parking. The church has about 500 members and usually draws about 300 for Sunday services, Ray said.

• The church must allow the community to use the state-of-the-art performing arts theater at least four times a year. In addition to that, Ray said that the church would produce its own community-friendly programs throughout the year, while welcoming outside groups to rent the space for church-appropriate programs.

• The special exceptions would become invalid should the church default on its mortgage or sell the property to another religious congregation.

• The church must maintain the existing facade of the building with the Devon name. Ray said that she would call the site Kingdom Life Christian Center at the Devon.

In advance of the June 15 civic meeting, some community leaders and organizations made no secret of their opposition to the idea of a church operating at the Devon. As one of the city’s few remaining single-screen theaters, many in the community consider it a valuable link to the past. However, it’s modern, too. In the mid-1990s, the Mayfair Community Development Corporation bought the site and renovated it into a versatile performing arts center. Yet, public funding dried up during the recession. The theater produced two shows in 2009 before it abruptly closed mid-season.

The CDC surrendered the property to Beneficial Bank, which sold it in February 2014 to a private investor for $487,500, more than a million dollars less than its appraised value, according to Joe DeFelice, who serves on the boards of the civic association and CDC. The investor sold it last December to the church for $500,000, with the investor serving as the mortgage provider. According to DeFelice, the total value of the mortgage was $950,000. At last week’s meeting, Ray declined to discuss the church’s financial model.

In addition to the actual theater, the property includes several storefronts along the 6300 block of Frankford Ave. One will serve as the church’s food distribution facility. An insurance agent occupies another, while two stores remain vacant. Ray agreed to involve community leaders in selecting desirable businesses to fill the open stores.

Leading up to the June 15 civic meeting, DeFelice and the Mayfair Business Association were two of the objectors, claiming that the church and its activities are less than ideal in promoting Frankford Avenue as a re-emerging retail corridor.

However, during the meeting, the owners of Tony’s Place and Shop Rite of Knorr Street each endorsed the church. Ruthanne Madway, executive director of the CDC, said that she is “excited” to see the prospect of arts returning to the community, although she wants to ensure that the community has legal recourse should the church not live up to its agreements. ••

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