Makers Church completed renovation rendering. (Photo courtesy OBR Architecture)

A century-old church in North Park at 3810 Bancroft St. has renovations underway after selling six rental houses on a lot to fund the project. Beyond much-needed updates and repairs, Makers Church will add a child care center, event venue, co-working space and coffee shop to the campus so it will serve the community daily, rather than just a few times a week. These will also add income streams to secure the church’s future. The church construction is expected to be completed by fall 2024. 

North Park Baptist dates back to the 1930s before it merged with Makers Church (formerly Mosaic Church) in 2019. At the time of the merger, Makers Church pastor Derrick Miller said the church building on Bancroft Street was facing many issues of deferred maintenance. 

“They had this old building that they had never had the means to renovate, given to all sorts of factors, part of it being the size of the church in terms of the congregation, the age of the church, and then just the socio-economic reality of a lot of the congregation there,” said Miller, who also works as a San Diego Fire Captain.  

The older Baptist church with an aging congregation brought property into the merger that the much younger Makers Church could benefit from after years of renting venues since it was founded in 2010. 

In 2020, the newly-united church was set to launch a capital campaign to raise $850,000 for necessary repairs. They felt the millions needed for a full renovation was out of the congregation’s means. Even the modest capital campaign had to be canceled due to the uncertainty of the COVID-19 pandemic.  

“That whole plan exploded,” Miller said.  

Leadership realized assets must be sold to pay for the renovation. Years later, the church sold a portion of its property occupied by six now-vacant rental homes to an as-yet-to-be-announced developer.  

Miller is assuring the community that they chose a developer they believe understands the needs of the neighborhood and is committed to building much-needed housing for people of low and middle incomes. In addition, the church required the developer in the sale to on-site parking, something the city does not require.  

“We left a lot of money on the table by requiring that but for us, that was non-negotiable and part of our attempt to be neighborly,” said Miller.  

Parking requirements at new builds have been lowered or eliminated for several reasons, including to encourage more transit use to meet climate change goals and removing barriers to construction amid the housing crisis. Other parking has been eliminated in certain neighborhoods as safety measures are added such as bike lanes and medians.  

However, some community members have spoken against the proposed development in the “quiet part of North Park.” A petition on change.org has garnered nearly 250 signatures with several complaints about the project listed. Concerns range from adding a large building that will tower over homes, construction causing noise pollution, parking, and devaluation of nearby homes.

“North Park is renowned for its intimate charm and tranquil atmosphere,” reads the petition. “However, if this sizable luxury apartment building is allowed to proceed as planned by Makers Church, we fear that all these cherished qualities will be irreversibly altered.”

Miller said church staff and congregants primarily live in North Park so experience the issue of parking being removed and they did not want to exacerbate the problem. It was this knowledge of community needs that also led them to adding the childcare center and co-working space.  

“We wanted to really use our resources well to serve the neighbors seven days a week,” Miller said.  

Makers Church is located in a part of North Park with less coffee shops so even that aspect was mindful of how it could benefit the neighborhood, although adding commercial space was another complaint in the petition against the development. Beyond weddings and parties, the event venue can accommodate community groups as well as serve as a concert venue after so many live music options were lost in the pandemic.  

Alongside necessary infrastructure improvements and repairs—such as HVAC updates and accessibility provisions—the project will see Makers Church undergo a series of architectural enhancements to accentuate the unique character of its buildings while compounding the property’s adaptive use. 

Amid the housing crisis, several churches have made similar decisions to Makers Church to sell portions of their property. Some are looking at only affordable housing projects, such as the controversial idea being considered at Water’s Edge Church in Ocean Beach, while others have specified only the minimum affordable units required by the city, such as 525 Olive at St. Paul’s Cathedral in Bankers Hill.  

The trend has had the dual purpose of providing financial security to churches and the faith organizations helping to meet the most pressing need of the communities they serve: housing.