Walgreens offered $1.6 million for the church site. (Cincinnati Preservation)

Cincinnati's Old St. George Church won't be demolished to make way for a Walgreens. However, at the end of this year, many community programs and charities will be displaced as the developer, Clifton Heights Community Urban Redevelopment Corp. (CHCURC), decides on a new use for the 19th-century building.

The Romanesque revival church, a local landmark designed by local architect Samuel Hannaford, was built in 1873 as a Catholic church. After Old St. George closed, the multi-denominational Christian Ministry bought the church in 1994 and turned it into a community center. The building has hosted a variety of events, from AA meetings to concerts to Hindu weddings.

Earlier this year, the ministry hit hard times and faced foreclosure. Walgreens offered to buy the building for $1.6 million, planning to demolish it for a new store. Instead, a local nonprofit matched Walgreens' offer, and the owner decided to sell to that group, which intends to reuse the church.

"The building is in our logo," says Matt Bourgouis, interim director for the group says. "We are a neighborhood-driven group. We need to make sure it's secure."

CHCURC, a nonprofit partially funded by the University of Cincinnati, has been a driving force behind the redevelopment of the Clifton Heights area in recent years. Under its watch, many run-down buildings have been replaced with student housing, condos, and high-end retail.

Bourgouis says the church could become retail space. "We are brainstorming for anybody and everybody who could occupy the space and preserve it," he says. "Everybody is obviously for saving the building."

The sale is scheduled to be completed next month.

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