Auburn University Baptist Campus Ministries (BCM) has relocated to a temporary space and the sale of the BCM property to the City of Auburn is “on track,” according to a spokesperson for the Alabama Baptist State Board of Missions (SBOM).
The Auburn city council approved an agreement to acquire the BCM building and property at its Dec. 19, 2017, meeting. The deal, which was approved by messengers to the annual meeting of the Alabama Baptist State Convention (ABSC) in November 2017, will result in a new facility for the Auburn BCM and improvements to the nine other BCM centers across the state.
According to the agreement, the ABSC will sell the property to the city for $2.33 million. The existing BCM building will be demolished to make way for a new 200- to 300-space parking deck for public use on the site.
A new 7,000-square-foot BCM space will be built on the first level of the parking garage. SBOM will determine the layout of the space.
The City of Auburn is providing temporary space for the BCM in downtown Auburn, not too far from its historic location, for the duration of the construction phase of the project, according to Bobby DuBois, SBOM associate executive director.
Upon completion of the new facility, Auburn will deed the space to SBOM along with 15 parking spaces and pay SBOM the difference in the appraised value of the property and the cost of construction — an estimated $1.23 million. That money will be combined with existing campus ministry funds of approximately $1 million to renovate the other nine BCM facilities in the state with no debt incurred, DuBois said.
Demolition of the BCM facility is set to begin within the next few weeks. David Dorton, director of public affairs for the City of Auburn, told the Opelika-Auburn News that the city wants to be ready to begin construction of the parking deck in June. Dorton estimated that construction will take 9 to 12 months. (TAB)
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