Grand Rapids Builders

New owner of fire-ravaged Grand Rapids church uncertain of next move

UPDATE: Parishioners saddened fire destroyed historic Grand Rapids church, but grateful artifacts were saved

GRAND RAPIDS - The plan to renovate the Latvian Apostolate at Our Lady of Aglona Church into a men's ministry center is now up in the air as fire has significantly damaged the Northwest Side building today, according to a representative of a builder who recently purchased the structure.

Bruce Kuiper, of Grace Legacy Builders, said the company bought the 507 Broadway Ave. NW church from the Catholic Diocese and planned to continue it as a place of worship after overhauling the building, which had fallen into disrepair in recent years.

Kuiper, however, found a silver lining in the destruction of a century-old house of prayer.

“I'm sad, but very, very happy no one was hurt,” Kuiper said outside the burning building. “A lot worse things could have happened today.”

The church congregation had dwindled to about 30 in recent years and planned to move services to the Latvian Hall, 504 Grand Ave. NE.

Bishop Walter Hurley was to lead the last mass at the church on June 26.

The plans to leave the church have been in the works for at least five years, when the building was sold to a developer who planned 52 townhouse condominiums. The 115-year-old church and surrounding buildings were to be bulldozed so developers could have an entire block – bound by Broadway and Alabama avenues and First and Second streets – for the project.

A Swedish congregation originally built the red brick and stone church, known then as Evangelical Covenant Church.

Our Lady of Algona, formed in 1951 by 200 Latvian refugees, moved to the sanctuary in 1961. The congregation sold its first building to make room for Int. 196.

Zigfrids Zadvinskis, a church leader, said in 2006 that the property was costly to heat and too expensive to maintain after the city forced them to stop renting apartments. He said the building was far too large for the congregation which had an average age of about 70.

E-mail Nate Reens: nreens@grpress.com and follow him on Twitter at twitter.