By Eric Curl
April 10, 2023 – The Independent Presbyterian Church’s parking challenges downtown may soon be alleviated with the recent purchase of two nearby parcels just east of the Savannah Civic Center.
The church purchased a parking lot on Barnard Street, north of Orleans Square, along with a 19th-century home and associated parking on Oglethorpe Avenue, for $6.5 million, on April 3, according to sales records.
The church’s website describes the investment as a “generational opportunity” to secure the property that had been put on the market by the previous owner, JC Lewis Investment Company LLC, based at 9505 Abercorn St.
With only 20 parking spots previously, the 60 additional parking spaces acquired through the purchase are expected to better accommodate the 500 members who attend church services on Sunday mornings and 300 who attend in the evening, while the spaces spaces can be leased on weekdays, according to the online message concerning the purchase from Senior Minister Terry Johnson.
“The future of our mission to downtown Savannah, our ability to gather a congregation, to grow, to flourish in the decades ahead is related directly to the most mundane of matters: parking,” Johnson says.
Located at 207 Bull St., the church is located one block to the east of the acquired property. The building on Oglethorpe that the church acquired is a 3-story brick home that was built in 1820.
Director of Administration Josh Espinosa said on Monday that the church wants to keep the building, a former law office that is currently not occupied, but is prepared to sell it if not enough contributions are received to pay down the debt accrued acquiring the parcels.
“We do not have a specific use for it at this time which is why it is making it difficult to keep it,” Espinosa said. “We could envision several uses for it in the future if it were still in our possession.”
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