The sanctuary superstructure was completed in 1931. Stained glass windows fill the two side walls. There is a one-of-a-kind Martin Luther window overlooking the rear balcony. Immanuel is the oldest LCMS congregation in Kansas City. Its ministry has lasted for over 125 years. Its food pantry ministry has been going on for forty years. Those are the old things of which we are proud. Now, here are th
e new things. Immanuel has been a vital part of its neighborhood association since its inception, hosting the neighborhood association meetings and gatherings for some years now. The cooperative effort of our two groups is yielding great fruit. Brad Pitt’s foundation, Make It Right, is going to repurpose an abandoned elementary school building that is only one block from the church. Groundbreaking is scheduled for June 1, 2012. Fifty apartment and condominium units will be carved from the existing property. Common areas inside the building like the gymnasium, cafeteria, and auditorium will be retained and refurbished for use by the neighborhood. An underground parking garage for the residents will be added. All will be done to LEED Platinum standards, the highest standard of green, sustainable construction. If you wish to see an artist’s rendering of what the finished product will look like, go to bnim.com and see their home page. (You will see also that the architect plan for this project won an international award.) What you’ll see is the back side of Bancroft School, facing Forest Avenue. This drawing shows the new construction. The other side of the school will retain its historical façade. The new dwellings should be available for rental in the summer of 2013. The hope is that this replacement of urban blight with something that is both beautiful and a functional asset to the neighborhood will attract other positive redevelopment to Immanuel’s Historic Manheim Park neighborhood and the whole urban core of Kansas City. Already, Bank of America is pledging funds to refurbish homes in the Kansas City urban core and to pay for the demolition of houses that cannot be refurbished. So, would you like to be a part of this? Would you like to be a part of a church where you can volunteer in a food pantry, work in an urban Vacation Bible School, or aid in the revitalization of a neighborhood?
