Remains Of Burned-Out Church May Become A Park

Now here’s a good idea, and we mean that sincerely — transforming the battered hulk of the burned-out, historic Bethel Baptist Church in Midtown into a park.

KHOU reports that City Council has voted to buy the land what is left of the church, which suffered a massive fire in 2005. The hope is that architects and engineers can figure out a way to keep the walls of the building standing — and safe — as part of an open-air park.

Since the fire, the church has seen arson, vagrants and damage to its remains. The city will set up a TIRZ to finance the $360,000 purchase cost, and then experts will see how much the proposal to make it part of a park will cost.

Here are some drawings of what it might look like. Could be a whole lot worse.