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The Rev. Falwell
snares prime Lynchburg real estate
Virginia
Business
March 2003
Saving souls is a bit like selling real estate —
it’s all about location. When the Rev. Jerry Falwell’s
Thomas Road Baptist Church announced last November it
was buying the Ericsson plant in Lynchburg, Falwell
gushed over how close the site was to major roads. “It’s
the most strategic location around,” he said.
That’s
why Lynchburg officials blanched at the idea of taking
the 880,000-square-foot facility off the tax rolls —the
Falwell ministries are tax exempt. The plan is for the
building to house a 5,000-seat sanctuary, Lynchburg
Christian Academy, Liberty University and a recreation
center. A third of the building is leased by electronics-maker
Sanmina-SCI, and church officials say it can stay.
Falwell
said in a statement that the city won’t lose any
tax revenue, claiming that a dormitory project for Falwell’s
Liberty University planned for nearby Campbell County
will be switched instead to Lynchburg. Falwell says
moving the dorms will make up for tax losses at the
Ericsson site.
Even
so, the city will still lose a large and viable industrial
site near major roads. The surrounding region is hilly
and has a shortage of space for large businesses. In
addition, it took a tax hit as well on the sale price:
the Ericsson property had been assessed at $23.8 million
but Falwell ministries got it for $10.2 million. The
site had been on the market at least two years.
For
Lynchburg there still may be a devil in the details.
Once the church makes a formal rezoning application,
city planners can sort out how to mix its light-industrial
zoning with a massive church and two schools.
Virginia
Business - March 2003
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