Church Sues to Demolish Historic Church Building

"'Little is more representative of a church's theology than its architecture, and this building is not us," said Darrow Kirkpatrick, the church's lay leader."

"The church has sought to demolish the Araldo Cossutta-designed chapel since 1991, making way for a smaller and more energy-efficient building. Those plans were disrupted when local preservation groups filed an application to designate the building as an historic landmark. The landmark application was essentially tabled until April 2007, when the church headquarters in Boston sold the land beneath the chapel to ICG Properties. ICG, a District-based developer, has proposed redeveloping the site to include a smaller church, as well as separate office and retail space.

The new plans revived the landmark application, and D.C.'s Historic Preservation Review Board voted unanimously in December 2007 to landmark the building."