Carey Has Agreement To Buy Baptist Church

 HARWICH – Within a week of the Davenport Companies announcing it will not be pursuing the purchase of the West Harwich Baptist Church for housing,  John Carey announced that he has a purchase and sales agreement to acquire the church. 

 Carey said he has a purchase and sales agreement with First Baptist Church of West Harwich and Dennisport, the church owner, to acquire the historic structure that serves as the centerpiece of the village. He said his intent is to fully restore and preserve the structure, which was built in the 1880s.

 “My goal is to create a community asset for all of Harwich to be able to enjoy,” said Carey. “No housing. It will be some type of community meetinghouse — more details to come.”

 Carey has just completed the 10-unit development of the historic West Harwich Schoolhouse located to the rear of the Baptist Church, adjacent to the Baptist Church Cemetery. That project includes three affordable housing units and seven workforce housing rentals.

Davenport Companies was the sole bidder on purchase of the church, which the town brokered to clear the title on the 1.62-acre property, including the cemetery. The company planned to repurpose the church into 10 to 13 housing units, but came to the conclusion that the building was not structurally sound and proposed to demolish the church and construct a replica. The town’s historic district and historical commission put a 12-month demolition delay on the project.

 In a press release last week, the Davenport Companies said that it would not move forward with the acquisition of the church.  

“We’re excited for the direction West Harwich is moving,” said Carey. “I’ve had a structural engineer look at the church and it is ready for another 100 years of service to the town. The building is in great shape.” 

Carey said he hoped to close on the purchase in October. He said he plans to file an application with the community preservation committee for funding to help with the preservation project. The deadline for filing that application is Oct. 1.

 He said he expects to have discussion with the town over locating a sewer pump station on the land, which was one of the reasons the town got involved with the eminent domain process associated with the request for proposals. Discussion could also be associated with the historic cemetery on the property.

Carey also said he will be filing plans with the planning board in November for a project on the Captain Baker House property across Depot Street from the church, where he is planning to develop an Exchange Building-like structure with 29 apartment units.  

Davenport Companies has also just been approved to convert a 10-unit office building into 10 apartments two lots east of the Baptist Church.

Carey did not disclose the purchase price of the church property.