ASU may

buy church
By Caroline Monday
cmonday@mountaintimes.com

Appalachian State University may have the opportunity to expand its campus, as First Presbyterian Church considers selling its current building on East Howard Street.

Bunk Spann, an elder at the church and a member of the committee formed to explore options in the possible move, said the church has been considering the move for some time and the committee has hosted several informational meetings for church members on the topic.

First Presbyterian’s congregation will vote on the decision to sell on Sunday, Jan. 27. If the congregation decides in favor of the sale, the committee has found a 12-acre lot in the Boone area that it will recommend as a site for relocation.

Lorin Baumhover, ASU chief of staff, said the university has been approached by the church to inquire about the university’s interest in purchasing the property, which includes where the church stands and a parking lot located across the street. While the university considers each site on a case-by-case basis, the institution is generally interested purchasing available property near the existing campus, Baumhover said, adding that the university is interested in the First Presbyterian site.

Spann said, “My position is that the opportunity before us is one that we should seriously consider.”

In a letter printed in the church newsletter, Spann encouraged church members to approve the decision. He noted that the university has “the resources to offer market value for our current property and a schedule that will allow us to plan, build and move to a new building before we have to turn our old one over to the university.”

Spann said in an interview that one of the motivations behind the decision to move is that the church is land locked in its current location. The facility’s original construction was completed about 70 years ago, making upkeep difficult, he said.

Spann said that, as the university has stated its intentions to avoid campus expansion on King Street and West Howard Street, the purchase of this building on East Howard Street would be logical.

As of yet, there have not been statements as to what would happen to the church building, should the property be sold to ASU. The church site is currently zoned as R-3 (multi-family residential). It is possible that the site, once sold, would require a change in zoning to U-1 (university) zoning, depending on how the university decides to use it.