Bethlehem Apostolic Temple Building A Vision For North Wheeling
WHEELING -- Bethlehem Apostolic Temple is continuing work on its Dream Center and is now looking to build a recreational facility in North Wheeling.
Bishop Darrell Cummings said the church is demolishing the building it owns at Fourth and Main streets that was once the Columbia Sales warehouse building.
"It was almost $100,000 just to tear it down," Cummings said. "But it is our hope, when we can raise the money, to build an indoor gym for North Wheeling. North Wheeling does not have an indoor gym."
He said the building had been vacant for about a decade and that metal had been stolen from the structure.
The church purchased the building about 12 years ago and initially allowed a furniture company to use it, according to Cummings.
"It cost too much to redo -- but it cost almost as much to tear it down," he said. "But it is being torn down, and we're hoping to build it from the ground up."
Meanwhile, work continues at The Dream Center, where the church conducts seasonal food distributions and community events.
"We're excited that we have finished the daycare center (inside the Dream Center)," he said. "We thought we had a daycare going in there. They were supposed to start May 1, and then the week they were supposed to start they called to say they had changed their minds.
"That kind of hurt us, but life goes on."
The church continues to seek someone to operate a daycare in the new space.
"We're willing to work with anyone," Cummings said. "There is a need for more daycares, as I understand it. There is a two-year waiting list (at some places). Day care is one of the most expensive things for new parents."
The church also continues renovations at the Dream Center. The welcome center entrance -- the doors facing Main Street that do not have steps -- has been upgraded.
"I know it doesn't sound like much, but that's two rooms out of 35 (that have been renovated)," Cummings said. "We have already invested $750,000, even though it is still not up to total use."
He added the church will hold a dedication ceremony for the completed rooms "within the next 30 days."
Cummings said social service agencies serving domestic violence victims and veterans previously were located in the building but left because of water damage. He hopes those agencies and possibly others will return following the upgrades.
There also are plans to create space for micro-business startups at the Dream Center, Cummings said.
He also hopes to include an event space within the facility.
"We are the largest parking lot and the largest building in North Wheeling," Cummings said.