A dilapidated warehouse with structural and foundation problems in the Melrose section of the Bronx is not the typical setting for an uplifting construction story. But the transformation of a 99-year-old building from a dangerous stench into the home of LaGree Baptist Church, a 31,000-square-foot modern church, community center and commercial space for tenants, has become an inspiring journey. Repurposing the three-story wooden structure, an effort led by BDB Construction Enterprise as contractor and Body Lawson Associates Architects and Planners as architect, is not only relocating an active congregation from its Harlem base, but also providing Melrose a new economic engine. through four new tenant spaces for professional and retail businesses.
Creating a multi-use development from a badly out-of-code building, most recently used for light manufacturing and a car repair outfit, required an extensive overhaul of the structural systems, says Tallal Bhutta, managing director of BDB Construction.
The project team installed Pilkington arched insulating glass panels along the sanctuary wall facing the street.
Photo courtesy of BDB Construction
“The whole building had irregular construction and many elements were not registered correctly,” he says.
The team had to address major deficiencies, including repairing and reinforcing existing columns for greater load-bearing capacity, shoring up a sunken roof, reinforcing floor decks to allow new cuts for stairs and elevators, and repairing foundations , says Bhutta.
Some of the structure was suitable for preservation, says Victor Body-Lawson, principal of Body Lawson Associates. “It was a gut renovation,” he says. “There was structural damage—the floors weren’t aligned, the roof was falling in. We did a lot of intervention and structural surgery—a lot of steel, new wood— [accommodate] the new church”.
But the project had to incorporate much of the skeleton and footprint, and required careful demolition and adaptation of the existing structure, says Body-Lawson.
The team introduced new solid elements: steel beams to support the roof deck, reinforced columns and foundations, C-shaped steel beams and concrete for the floor decks to support new stair and elevator openings and structural steel for an inclined floor in the year 2,140. square meters main sanctuary.
Photo by Erik Rank, courtesy of BDB Construction
“A modernization project always faces size constraints,” he says. “It’s not a tabula rasa.”
The team introduced new solid elements: steel beams to support the roof deck, reinforced columns and foundations, C-shaped steel beams and concrete for the floor decks to support new stair and elevator openings and structural steel for an inclined floor in the year 2,140. square feet main shrine, says Bhutta. All this took place in a cramped place of 10,000 square meters with no rest area, he adds.
“It was a gut renovation.”
—Victor Body-Lawson, Principal, Body Lawson Associates
“We had to be very creative with a lot of equipment,” he says. “We had our boom trucks deliver the steel beams to the site. Then we used forklifts to manually install them in sequence, one by one. It was very painstaking.”
LaGree Baptist Church purchased the South Bronx site in 2018, after selling its former Harlem property and moving into leased space. But early on, church leaders sought to reduce the rent burden and asked the project team to make a temporary home in the Melrose building. This prompted an early redesign, turning one of the first-floor tenant commercial spaces into a temporary sanctuary and office. The program moved to this work in 2019, but still required waterproofing to secure the building envelope and repair sections of the roof. This included building a reinforced concrete water retention tank and bars in the cellar to collect rainwater drainage, says Bhutta.
The church moved into the temporary space just before the pandemic, says Body-Lawson.
“We built the project in two phases: first to get them into the temporary worship space and then to build the permanent space,” he says.
BDB Construction cut openings into the existing floor structures for the addition of new elevators and stairs.
Photo courtesy of BDB Construction
Permanent features include the 211-person lobby and main sanctuary on the first floor, along with church offices and a 1,890-square-foot fellowship hall that can seat 152 people on the second floor. The hall has kitchen facilities and functions as an overflow space for worship services. The congregation also has access to a green rooftop deck for outdoor events, and there is a basement, which will house a youth ministry and storage space. The rooftop, wine cellar and fellowship hall may also be available for community events. The building also has three commercial spaces on the first floor, as well as 7,000 square feet of commercial space on the third floor for a larger organization, such as a school or doctor’s office, Body-Lawson says.
“These are uncertain times for churches, with attendance affected by the pandemic,” he says. “With the new designs, we try to get them other sources of income that can make them more sustainable organizations over time.”
The construction phase brought challenges, including rising prices from the supply chain crisis and inflation. There was also a surprise: Church leaders requested a larger sanctuary stage after it was built. The original renderings didn’t give them a real sense of the stage’s size, says Bhutta.
The project team had already moved columns and installed full-length beams to accommodate a 34-foot clear light for the sanctuary. To address the concern, members took a separate space for the baptismal font and incorporated it into the set design to make it slightly larger. The work required replacing and adding joists as well as removing a wall, Bhutta says.
“With new designs, we try to achieve that [churches] other sources of income that can make these organizations more sustainable over time.”
— Victor Body-Lawson, Principal, Body Lawson Associates
Although most of the construction took place in 2021, lower church attendance caused by the COVID-19 pandemic led to delays in later stages during 2022 and 2023. Most of the work have already been completed, with a certificate of temporary occupancy expected at the end of this spring and final completion in the summer. Work remains for the deck and outside parking area, including the addition of concrete pavers, railings and waterproofing. The building also received an injection of new systems and utilities, says Bhutta.
“There were no fire safety systems in the facility,” he says. “We had to introduce new water lines for sprinklers, bathrooms and domestic use [as well as] new plumbers”.
The team also installed a 2,500-amp electrical and wiring system, HVAC mini-splits, heat pump units, electric heaters and the two elevators, Bhutta says.
The team retained original elements on the exterior, restoring Romanesque-Renaissance features such as large arched windows on the first floor, says Body-Lawson. The previous owners had closed them, and it took a lot of effort to unlock them and reframe them and install the channel glass, he adds.
The team also painted the facade, railings and other features red, says Bhutta. “We returned the building to its past character,” he says.
Most of the works are already completed, with a provisional certificate of occupancy expected at the end of this spring and final completion in the summer.
Photo by Erik Rank, courtesy of BDB Construction
Another distinctive feature is the sanctuary’s industrial-style ceiling system, which serves both aesthetic and functional purposes, says Body-Lawson. The project team wanted to allow access to the mechanical systems, leaving these elements partially exposed on the ceiling, but they camouflaged the ducts and pipes, painting these elements black and hanging white floating “cloud” panels below them .
The 4-foot-by-8-foot slanted panels provide not only an acoustic boost, combining with wall panels to bounce sound off the stage into the pews, but also a bit of visual style, says Body-Lawson.
“They create this plane,” he adds. “All you see are the clouds.”
