Lansing-based church looks to purchase former Mighty Good Coffee roasting location
A Lansing-based church wants to convert the former Mighty Good Coffee roasting operation on Huronview Boulevard into a new church.
The property, located at 200 and 202 Huronview Boulevard just off North Main Street, has been vacant since owner David Myers consolidated his Mighty Good cafe and roasting operation into a single location at 217 N. Main St. in fall 2010.
The Center of Light Church seeks to purchase the former Mighty Good Coffee roasting location at 200 and 202 Huronview Boulevard in Ann Arbor.
Photo from rofo.com
The Center of Light Christian Spiritual School plans to convert 202 Huronview into a 50-seat church and 200 Huronview into a parsonage, according to city records.
The church is asking for a special use exception from the Ann Arbor Planning Commission, which will consider the request at its meeting tonight.
The site includes a 2,468-square-foot house and a barn that is less than 1,000 square feet.
The Rev. Lela Iduna said the Center of Light started leasing the buildings in early June but hopes to purchase the property by the end of the month if the special exception use is approved.
The Ann Arbor Center of Light is a satellite location for the Lansing-based church, which was started in 2007. Since 2008, Iduna has been holding services at various locations in Ann Arbor, including the Body Mind Spirit Wellness Center on South State Street.
“We needed a bigger place,” she said. “We need a place that could be dedicated for the spiritual center that is big enough for people to gather and the community to be together.”
Iduna said that the property will require few renovations — just some painting and cleaning of the space.
“This is a wide open space, which is what we needed,” she said. “We love this new location. We are very excited to be here.”
Jim Chaconas of Colliers International, the real estate company that listed the property, said that he anticipates the church being a good use for the former roasting operation.
“It’s kind of neat to take something that was a coffee factory to convert into a church,” he said. “It’s a nice redevelopment and good for the community.”
Lizzy Alfs is a business reporter for AnnArbor.com. Reach her at 734-623-2584 or email her at lizzyalfs@annarbor.com. Follow her on Twitter at http://twitter.com/lizzyalfs.
Comments
David Briegel
Fri, Jul 8, 2011 : 12:37 p.m.
Great, more property off the tax rolls. We get to subsidize cults!
Macabre Sunset
Fri, Jul 8, 2011 : 7:03 a.m.
They'll change the name to "Almighty Good Coffee," right?
halflight
Fri, Jul 8, 2011 : 3:32 a.m.
A little googling always helps. "Centers of Light" may have a local presence in Lansing, but they're not based there. "Centers of Light" is a name used for local groups by the Order of Christ Sophia (OCS), a new religious group started way back in the mists of 1999. Here's a link to the "Centers of Light" website: <a href="http://www.centersoflight.org/" rel='nofollow'>http://www.centersoflight.org/</a>. The leaders of the OCS are Father Peter Bowes and Mother Clare Watts, veterans of a similar group called the Holy Order of MANS (HOOMS). Here's the Wikipedia entry for that: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holy_Order_of_MANS" rel='nofollow'>http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holy_Order_of_MANS</a>. All of this started in -- San Francisco. Where else? According to the chapter summaries of a book about OCS (<a href="http://www.oxfordscholarship.com/oso/public/content/religion/9780195378443/toc.html)," rel='nofollow'>http://www.oxfordscholarship.com/oso/public/content/religion/9780195378443/toc.html),</a> Peter Bowes was ordained as a priest in HOOMS, then went on to found his own religious group, the Brotherhood of Christ. Clare Watts was a student of Bowes, and then started her own religious group, the Order of Sophia. Till the one day when the lady met this fellow And they knew it was much more than a hunch, That this group would somehow form an order. That's the way they all became the OCS. Couldn't resist. Anyhow, there's controversy about this group's methods, with some people denouncing them as a "cult" (whatever that means), so I'd advise people to read up before they get involved.
scan
Fri, Jul 8, 2011 : 2:25 a.m.
God wants you to spend lots and lots of money. Especially on buying buildings to worship him.
Dr. Webster
Thu, Jul 7, 2011 : 11:47 p.m.
The new location should keep followers from falling asleep during the sermons!
bedrog
Thu, Jul 7, 2011 : 8:23 p.m.
They can just keep the original sign with one of the 'o's crossed out.