05/29/2026
A Building Sale Update for Our Congregation
May 29, 2026
Dear Friends,
It has been a while since we have given you a full update on the building sale, and you deserve one. The short version is this: we are still in it, we still believe in it, and we are still moving forward. The longer version is a bit more complicated — and you deserve to hear that, too.
Where Things Stand:
The purchaser, Charles MacFarlane, has filed a Special Use Permit (SUP) with the City of Richmond which has been preliminarily reviewed by the City staff. There have been delays in the approval process. We are currently awaiting the scheduling of a hearing before the City’s Planning Commission. Once that hearing is on the calendar, we will let you know immediately. If approved, it will be submitted to City Council for action.
Charles MacFarlane has requested a 120-day extension taking us to October 23. We have granted this extension, with conditions.
The Neighborhood Opposition — and How It Has Been Addressed:
We want to be honest with you: there has been meaningful opposition to this project from the Saints Constantine and Helen Greek Orthodox Cathedral (The Greek Church) leadership and a couple of Kingcrest neighbors, and that opposition has made the path to City Council approval uncertain. Charles has listened carefully at every turn and responded in good faith. Here is a summary of the concerns that were raised, and what was done about each one:
Density. The original proposal included 72 units – a combination of Townhomes and a multifamily complex. Neighbors said that was too many. The project has been reduced from 72 units, to 35, to 34 — with one unit removed specifically to create a neighborhood park.
Parking. Parking concerns were raised early and often. Every townhome in the current plan includes two dedicated parking spaces, in addition to ample street parking on Grove, Malvern, and Antrim.
Height. There were concerns that the townhomes would tower over the neighborhood. In truth, they were already shorter than the highest point of our sanctuary. The height was reduced further in response to neighbor feedback.
The Greek Festival. You may have heard the claim that the sale of our property would threaten the Richmond Greek Festival. We want to address this directly: the Greek Church does not use our property for the festival itself — only our parking lot, which we have graciously provided at no charge for many years. The festival does not depend on our land, and our sale does not affect its future. Additionally, the West End 1st Voter District Councilman, Andrew Breton, has indicated support for closing Malvern Avenue between Grove and Cary Streets during the festival — which would give the festival more usable space than it has today.
Noise concerns for future residents. To proactively protect the Greek Festival from future noise complaints by incoming residents, provisions were being developed to include deed restrictions that would limit such complaints from new homeowners in the development. The neighborhood's beloved traditions were part of our thinking from the beginning.
Despite all these responses, the opposition has remained. Some of the concerns raised at neighborhood meetings were not actually about our project at all — broader frustrations about traffic, other nearby developments, and the pace of change in the neighborhood have, understandably, been channeled into this process. Charles has tried to meet all of it with patience.
Charles again has tried to work in good faith with the Greek Church leadership and close neighbors, but at every turn the goal post moves. At this point, MacFarlane’s team has shared copious potential revised renderings, taking into account their concerns. Responses from the Greek Church leadership and select neighbors have reflected continuing and growing demands of opposition. Notwithstanding Charles’ good faith efforts to address specific concerns articulated, a final resolution has been elusive. Our experience over the last two years instructs us that even concessions he has made will be met with opposition. There appears to be no version of this project that will satisfy the opposition.
We want to be unambiguous: we stand behind Charles MacFarlane, and we believe he continues to put forward a beautiful, thoughtful, high-quality example of what good infill development can look like in this neighborhood. His team, and the architects at 3North, have produced something we are proud to associate with our church's legacy.
We want to be transparent with our congregation about something that may not be widely understood: We are not selling our building because we have to. We are moving forward because we believe it is the right missional step for this congregation — and because we are committed to doing it upon terms that honor our legacy and serve our community well. While the circumstances have been frustrating and beyond our control, SSCC has the financial resources from the fruits of generations of faithful stewardship, required to complete this transaction or pursue alternatives.
What We Are Watching — and Why We Are Preparing
We continue to hope — and actively work toward — the approval of Charles MacFarlane's SUP. But faithful stewardship means we must also be honest with ourselves and with you: there is a real possibility that City Council does not approve it. Opposition in the neighborhood, and uncertainty about our Councilman’s support, means the outcome is not guaranteed.
Two and a half years of work, prayer, negotiation, and waiting is a long time. The thought of that door closing is genuinely painful. We do not want to minimize that.
And yet — we do not believe this is the end of the road.
A New Door We Are Exploring:
In recent weeks, your leadership has been learning about a newly signed Virginia law — the Faith in Housing Bill (SB 388) — that may open a meaningful alternative path for SSCC.
Under this legislation, which takes effect January 1, 2027, qualifying faith communities may develop affordable housing on their property without the SUP or rezoning process that has been so challenging for us. Developments under this Act can proceed “by right,” meaning localities cannot demand special use permits, conditional use permits, rezoning, or other discretionary reviews.
We want to be clear about what this would and would not mean for SSCC, if we consider this alternative because our current transaction cannot proceed to closing:
• Our property would be developed as affordable housing in partnership with a mission-aligned developer — we would not be building or managing anything ourselves.
• We would retain permanent ownership of the land — a lasting legacy for future generations of this congregation. A new, right-sized ministry building would be included in the plan for our congregation.
• At least 60% of the units would be designated as affordable/low-income housing, serving families and individuals who need it most — something our congregation has long cared deeply about.
• Approximately 35-46 units might be developed on our 1.86 parcel of land.
As we have studied this option more carefully, we believe it may be an alternative to the current sale that serves our congregation’s long-term financial health as well as our mission. Affordable housing has been on our hearts throughout this entire journey. We never imagined it might be something we could do right here, in our own neighborhood. The possibility is both humbling and exciting.
We are in the early stages of learning. We have met with the Virginia Interfaith Center for Public Policy, who was instrumental in getting this bill passed. We expect to have more clarity on all fronts within the next two weeks.
Here is what we want you to hold onto: your leadership has not stopped working, has not lost hope, and has not lost sight of what this congregation deserves. We are pursuing every faithful path available to us, and we will keep you informed at every step.
If you have questions, concerns, or simply need to talk through any of this, please reach out. My door — and my inbox — is always open.
You can also reach out to our District Council person, Hon. Andrew S. “Gumby” Breton: 804.646.5935 or [email protected].
With gratitude and hope,
Rev. Hollie Woodruff, Minister
Steve Sanderford, SSCC Trustee
Meg Powell, SSCC Board Chair
