Richmond City Council has given the green light to raze a nearly 80-year-old church building at Grove and Malvern avenues and replace it with 33 new townhomes, capping months of neighborhood pushback that shrank the project from an original proposal of 72 units. The vote took place Nov. 9, with every council member except Reva Trammell voting in favor.
The special-use permit, sought by developer Macfarlane Partners, covers the two-acre site at 4101 Grove Ave., long home to Seventh Street Christian Church, according to Richmond BizSense. The outlet reports each of the 33 townhomes will rise three stories, span about 2,700 square feet, and come with a two-car garage. The final plan marks a sharp reduction from the developer's initial pitch of 72 combined townhomes and condominiums, and even from an April proposal for 35 townhomes, after neighbors objected to the scale of the project.
From Sanctuary to Subdivision
Seventh Street Christian Church moved to the Grove Avenue site in 1950, per BizSense's reporting, and the congregation — part of the Disciples of Christ denomination, according to the Richmond Times-Dispatch — had previously stood on Seventh Street in downtown Richmond, with roots dating to the 1830s, when it was founded as Sycamore Christian Church. The congregation moved out of the Grove Avenue building in 2024 and is now based at 2106 N. Hamilton St. in Henrico's Westwood area, BizSense notes.
The church faced millions of dollars in repairs, while building costs consumed nearly half of its annual budget. WTVR, in earlier coverage, put the maintenance cost at about $150,000 of the church's annual budget. Per the Times-Dispatch, the congregation decided its resources were better spent helping people in need, and church leaders said their mission is to serve the community rather than maintain a building. The church also donated its organ to a church in North Carolina and found a new home at the Spark youth performing arts building on North Hamilton Street, according to the same report.
What's Planned for the Site
Plans call for a pocket park at the corner of Grove and Malvern along with a marker commemorating the former church, BizSense reports. The Times-Dispatch's reporting on the project describes townhouses planned as three-story attached buildings with terraces, elevators and garages, aimed at the high end of the market.
Pricing details diverge between accounts: BizSense reports the for-sale units are expected to run between $1.25 million and $1.45 million, while the Times-Dispatch's figures put the range at $1.3 million to $1.5 million. The property's assessed value has been reported at $3 million and $3.6 million.
Greek Festival Parking Question Addressed
The church's parking lot has also served St. Constantine and Helen Greek Orthodox Cathedral, which hosts the Richmond Greek Festival, per the Times-Dispatch. Church leaders said the sale will not affect the festival's future, the paper reports, addressing concerns that had surfaced around the project.
Part of a Broader Pattern
The Grove Avenue approval fits into a wider trend of Richmond churches being repurposed or redeveloped. Axios Richmond has reported that multiple projects are underway across the city to convert churches into housing, event spaces or other uses, as faith groups turn parts of their properties into housing across the region. Axios points to St. Elizabeth Catholic Church on Northside, which started work on apartments for low-income residents on vacant land behind its church, and to plans for 1836 Park, a bookstore, coffee shop, day care and event space planned inside a vacant church at Meadow and Park in the Fan. Not every aging church building is headed for demolition, though — Axios reports the former Second Baptist Church next to The Jefferson Hotel is slated for preservation and conversion into a banquet hall rather than being razed for hotel parking.
Nearby development has followed a similar path of scaling back under neighborhood pressure. BizSense reports a separate project called Lafayette Green, at 3923 Grove Ave., was reduced from 16 proposed townhomes to 10 before winning city approval. Council has also recently rejected a 21-unit townhome project near Byrd Park, while an eight-unit proposal near Libbie and Grove is now set for a council hearing on Dec. 14 after an earlier vote was delayed, according to BizSense.
