Indianapolis Historic Preservation Commission blocks demolition of historic near east side church

INDIANAPOLIS -- Removed stained-glass windows. Missing pews and no altar anywhere in sight.




These are the conditions inside a century-old church that has been abandoned for over a decade. Despite efforts by church leaders to demolish Holy Cross Church while citing restoration costs, the historic church is set to remain in place for now on Indy's near east side.




On Wednesday night, the Indianapolis Historic Preservation Commission voted to block the demolition of the vacant Holy Cross Church. Church officials with the St. Phillip Neri Parish, meanwhile, called for the church to be demolished and for a developer to find new uses for the existing structures and land.




Wednesday's vote centered on St. Philip Neri's petition for a certificate of appropriateness, which would grant permission to church officials to move forward with the demolition and removal of the historic church. But in addition to blocking the demolition, the commission also opted to maintain the church's historic designation, preventing St. Philip Neri from taking any actions on the deteriorating property, which is located near the intersection of Oriental and Ohio.




Holy Cross Catholic Church has been closed since 2014. Father Jeffrey Dufresne said the cost to restore the property is estimated to be as high as $8.5 million, despite the property only being valued at $1 million. Dufresne serves as the pastor of St. Philip Catholic Parish.




When the building was shut down, parishioners joined the nearby congregation of Saint Philip Neri.




The parish has been trying to repeal the city's 2024 historic designation, as that has forced it to oversee "unsafe, unused structures" that it said have cost more than $80,000 to maintain. The conditions have deteriorated so rapidly that FOX59/CBS4's Rafael Sanchez was denied permission to tour the old sanctuary after being told it would not be safe to do so.




"Today, the IHPC voted to continue their troubling infringement on St. Philip Neri Parish's religious liberty. The city should not insert itself into a church's prayerful discernment for stewarding its own property, an overreach that forces us to bear an unsustainable financial burden for a deteriorating structure," Dufresne said after the hearing. "We will continue to pursue a recognition of our constitutional rights and urge city leaders to respect the exercise of our deeply held convictions. We cannot and we will not compromise when it comes to our Church's laws, rules, and limitations, even if the faithful exercise of our religion comes at increasing cost." 




The surrounding community, including the Holy Cross Neighborhood Association, has expressed its disagreement with the proposed demolition, instead advocating for a restoration of the building. The association said it has a petition featuring the names of 750 people who oppose the demolition.




"The owners have allowed it to fall into this state of disrepair," one resident previously told FOX59/CBS4. "With every passing year, there's less and less of these kinds of beautiful monuments that are left of a time that's probably not coming back."




St. Philip Neri has confirmed that it plans to appeal the decision when it appears before the Indianapolis Metropolitan Commission in November.





via: https://fox59.com/news/indianapolis-historic-preservation-commission-blocks-demolition-of-historic-near-east-side-church/