The Ritenour School District, which bought the 71-year-old Overland Baptist Church building in July, now has a plan in place to convert the building into the “Husky Support Center.” It will be the district’s transportation hub and central storage facility and will house the nonprofit Co-Care food pantry for minimal rent.
The Board of Education approved a $306,000 bid on Thursday night, the lowest of three, from Wachter Construction. Wachter has done other work for the district.
The work will begin with replacement or improvements to plumbing, electrical and structural systems. More approvals are expected in November toward making the 3.7-acre site more compatible with its residential neighbors on Midland Boulevard, including a new fence and sound and light mitigation.
The district had rented the space from the church for the past two years.
The district’s total cost for the overall project is expected to be more than $1 million, including the $425,000 purchase completed in July. Officials said that to develop a facility from the ground up would cost at least 10 times as much.
Although the church congregation is winding down its organization, it will continue to use some spaces in the facility, including a chapel and classrooms, over the next two years. The building is at 9303 Midland Blvd.
The food pantry, created in 1980, currently rents space at 9516 Lackland Road and relies on volunteers and donations. The pantry almost closed in 2017 because of high rent and lack of funding. It is expected to be in the new site early in 2020.
