The future of a vacant church in the historic Evergreen neighborhood will remain in limbo — at least a little longer.

On Wednesday, the Memphis and Shelby County Board of Adjustment (BOA) voted 5-2, denying a pair of proposals for the redevelopment of 1663 Autumn Ave.

The proposed renovation plan from developer Laurynas Petrauskas, Kate Haywood of Daily Design Group and restaurateur John Paul Gagliano included repurposing the historic property, which dates back to 1911, into 10 apartments with a café and bakery on the ground floor. The property sits on the intersection of Autumn Avenue and Dickerson Street and was originally the Evergreen Presbyterian Church.

“This isn’t a profit-driven project," Petrauskas said. "We just want to see the building restored."

The proposed plan was recommended for approval via a BOA staff report. That report included 95 letters of opposition (only five letters in support of the project were submitted), with approximately 30 of the opposing Evergreen residents in attendance at Wednesday’s meeting. The attendees were holding up signs that read “Vote no” and “Save Evergreen,” throughout the duration of the Board of Adjustment meeting.

Prior to the meeting, many of the opposing residents shared concerns over the potential increases in vehicular traffic a café and bakery would bring, in addition to worries over how trash removal and HVAC would be handled for the mixed-use.

“We want to save the building, but believe there is a better way to do this,” Evergreen resident Caroline Smith said.

During the presentation, Haywood shared a second alteration to the plan that scrapped the commercial portion and added two more residential units. She said the number of bedrooms hadn’t changed, they had always planned on adding 12 bedrooms to the property, but the number of units was the change. It was the only other alternative they could come up with that was still financially viable for preservation. The change was a result of feedback and opposition to the commercial portion of the property.

During the meeting, the opposition shared concerns over parking and the increased density the number of apartments would bring along with a commercial space.

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Board chair Tim Rainey echoed those concerns adding that the existing church takes up so much space he was unsure if there is enough property there to add 12 residential units.

The building owner, Frank Smith, explained he acquired the building during a nuisance lawsuit that was previously filed and that many residents had wanted to see the church torn down.

“I’m a preservationist at heart,” Smith said.

Smith, who aided in the Clayborn Temple restoration project, added that he had reached out for community input since acquiring the property. He contacted Petrauskas and Gagliano, who also reside in the Evergreen neighborhood, to help with the project and come up with a plan for restoration.

During the meeting, Petrauskas spoke out against the residents saying they wanted the church preserved. He said over the last nine months, they have not received positive feedback or cooperation with residents and reiterated that the initial nuisance complaint from the opposition group called for demolition.

The initial proposal included a café and bakery that would be operated by Gagliano. Gagliano also owns and operates the nearby Ecco at Overton Park and Tonica locations along with Libro at Laurelwood in East Memphis. During the meeting, Gagliano said he received complaints regarding the café and bakery plans and threats that residents would boycott his existing restaurants if this plan was approved.

“We have a plan before us and we don’t have any others,” board member Mary Baker said. “I still don’t believe it is the right means for this property… it is not the right location for that kind of density.”

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With the rejection, property owner Frank Smith said it's likely demolition will be the next step. Smith purchased the property in January 2023 for $58,700, according to the Shelby County Register of Deeds.

When asked if the neighborhood association would support demolition of the property, Caroline Smith said she doesn’t see demolition as the only option and wants to see the entire community involved in any future discussion for the site.

“We want to have a discussion and find a solution as a community,” Smith said.

Neil Strebig is a journalist with The Commercial Appeal. He can be reached at neil.strebig@commercialappeal.com, 901-426-0679 or via X/Twitter, @neilStrebig

This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Plan to redevelop church in Memphis' Evergreen neighborhood rejected