of the South Live Oak Industrial Park site just east of the railroad tracks in Old Town. Violette said plans are in design for repurposing the two buildings on the site, and the TEDC has vetted con- cepts from food halls to restaurant and retail space. In addition, council members approved moving $4.5 million from the TEDC’s budget reserves Feb. 20 to acquire the First Baptist Church Tom- ball property. Violette said the TEDC has no immediate plans for the church campus and is planning to lease the church back to the congregation for it to occupy until a new church building is finished. Violette said the TEDC will evaluate the potential uses of the site, which could include a municipal use or be privately redeveloped. “We do have access immediately to the parking lots, so the [First] Bap- tist Church parking lots will become available this year for our downtown events and to give more parking down there,” Quinn said. Bryan Hutson, managing part- ner for The Hutson Group, a fami- ly-owned real estate development business focused on Old Town, said he hopes to blend future projects with the TEDC’s plans for the church and South Live Oak properties, as The Hutson Group owns land nearby each. “I see a lot of potential for rede- velopment of downtown ... in those buildings; that’s a huge campus,” he said. “Tomball is evolving very quickly, and the one thing that we’re trying to do as a family is try to help maintain that small-town look and feel for at least the downtown area which we have the most influence in.” Violette said the community will have the opportunity to weigh in on the best use for the campus through an update to the city’s comprehensive plan, a long-term visionary plan. “People are attached to [the church], so I think for us, we have this unique ability to redevelop it and still keep what is kind of meaningful but also do that in a way that meets the needs of downtown,” Violette said. Plans for First Baptist Tomball Clark said First Baptist Church Tomball was organized in 1909. “It’s like a dream come true. … We have a deep love for Tomball,” he said. “The main worship center—they’re wanting to keep that facade as we understand it. … The fact that a lot of that historic spiritual activity will still be represented, not as a church but
A VISION FOR FIRST BAPTIST First Baptist Church Tomball RENDERINGS COURTESY MERRIMAN HOLT POWELL ARCHITECTS purchased land in 2003 off Hwy. 249 to prepare for a larger campus in the future. With the pending sale of the campus in Old Town, the church is planning to begin the first phase of building a new campus.
Land was purchased 20 years ago
Phase 1 includes a 600-seat auditorium
and two-story classroom wing
Future plans include an outdoor venue, ponds, recreational space and the existing outdoor pavilion
Phase 1 opening summer 2025
New campus spans 32 acres
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just as the facade, the building itself.” At the new campus, Clark said Phase 1 is anticipated to open in sum- mer 2025. The first phase of the 32-acre property will include a 600-seat audi- torium with a two-story classroom wing for children, youth and adults. The master plan for the property also includes an outdoor venue, ponds and recreational space for the community, including the existing outdoor pavilion on the property, Clark said. “There’s a lot of history, and we rec- ognize that. But at the same time, the church is very strategic about what we can do to benefit the community now and in the future, and the new prop- erty allows us to do that,” Clark said. “Everything just fell in place for both organizations.”
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TOMBALL - MAGNOLIA EDITION • MARCH 2023
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