{"id":28548,"date":"2023-01-04T03:24:04","date_gmt":"2023-01-04T08:24:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/?p=28548"},"modified":"2023-01-04T03:24:08","modified_gmt":"2023-01-04T08:24:08","slug":"local-businessmen-want-to-revive-an-old-abandoned-church-building-into-a-public-house-bar","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/2023\/01\/04\/local-businessmen-want-to-revive-an-old-abandoned-church-building-into-a-public-house-bar\/","title":{"rendered":"Local Businessmen want to revive an old abandoned Church Building into a public house (bar)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The building at 417 North Massachusetts Ave began its life in 1964 as the chapel of a funeral home and was last used as a house of worship in 2017. And been abandoned since.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"581\" height=\"237\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1110px) 100vw, 1110px\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/Screenshot-3.png?resize=581%2C237&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-28550\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/Screenshot-3.png?w=581&amp;ssl=1 581w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/Screenshot-3.png?resize=300%2C122&amp;ssl=1 300w\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Local historic preservationist and Publix heir Gregory Fancelli bought the property for $800,000 in 2017 under the corporate name FURC1 LLC.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Now, if Fancelli and businessman Stuart Simm have their way, the formerly abandoned church will be revived as a public house (bar) and event venue called \u201cThe Chapel\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The proposal has already been approved by Lakeland\u2019s Planning and Zoning Board in a unanimous vote and has the blessing of the Lakeland Downtown Development Authority, which also voted unanimously to allow conditional use of the property.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The City Commission has already held its first reading of the&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.lakelandgov.net\/portals\/CityClerk\/City%20Commission\/Agendas\/2023\/01-03-23\/23-001Ord.pdf\">conditional-use plan<\/a>, with a public hearing and vote scheduled for Jan. 17.<\/p>\n\n\n        <div id=\"ep-gutenberg-content-43f3881bc9f39579567838e0db0ccfe2\" class=\"ep-gutenberg-content aligncenter ep-percentage-width   ep-content-protection-disabled\" data-embed-type=\"PDF\" data-embed-url=\"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/417-n-massachusetts-avenue-proposal.pdf\">\n            <div class=\"embedpress-inner-iframe emebedpress-unit-percent ep-doc-43f3881bc9f39579567838e0db0ccfe2\" style=\"max-width:600%\" id=\"embedpress-pdf-1672820231153\">\n                <div >\n                    <div class=\"ep-embed-content-wraper\"><div class=\"position-right-wraper gutenberg-pdf-wraper\"><iframe title=\"417-n-massachusetts-avenue-proposal\" class=\"embedpress-embed-document-pdf embedpress-pdf-1672820231153\" style=\"width:600%;height:600px; max-width:100%; display: inline-block\" src=\"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-content\/plugins\/embedpress\/assets\/pdf\/web\/viewer.html?&#038;file=https%3A%2F%2Flakelandgazette.info%2Fnews%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2023%2F01%2F417-n-massachusetts-avenue-proposal.pdf#key=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\" frameborder=\"0\" oncontextmenu=\"return false;\"><\/iframe> <\/div><\/div>                <\/div>\n            <\/div>\n        <\/div>\n    \n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Simm, who most recently operated the Federal Bar on Tennessee Street downtown, wrote in his application that the building would be used \u201cfor hosting large social and business events such as weddings, baby and bridal showers, private parties, meetings, presentations, award dinners, and other similar type events\u201d with attendance of between 15 and 100 people.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"458\" height=\"372\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1110px) 100vw, 1110px\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/Screenshot-2-1.png?resize=458%2C372&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-28551\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/Screenshot-2-1.png?w=458&amp;ssl=1 458w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/Screenshot-2-1.png?resize=300%2C244&amp;ssl=1 300w\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It\u2019s a second use Simm\u2019s is requesting that is giving some commissioners and some residents a headache.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">On weekends, when no special events are scheduled, the building space would be operated as a public house (bar) open to the general public, with the sale of beer, wine, and liquor during Friday and Saturday evenings until 2 a.m.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Mayor Bill Mutz said he is \u201cvehemently opposed\u201d to Simm\u2019s plan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Mutz noted that Community Redevelopment Agency partners Yard on Mass and Haus 820 are within a few blocks of The Chapel and serve the same purpose that Simm is proposing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Mutz has occasionally gone against Fancelli\u2019s requests. Mutz and Fancelli have a history together in past elections.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWhat\u2019s was key for us from a zoning standpoint is just looking at the specific use and making sure it\u2019s in compliance with the land development code and the conditional use process,\u201d Chuck Barmby, Lakeland planning and transportation manager said. \u201cAnd so we don\u2019t get into how a site is marketed or how the specific business is marketed, as long as they\u2019re operating in compliance with land development code, and the conditional use if it were approved by the commission.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Unfortunately, this is becoming an emotional thing and we don\u2019t want to comment further until the public hearing,\u201d Simm said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The conditional use permit will come up for a vote at the commission\u2019s Jan. 17 meeting, which is scheduled to start at 9 a.m.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The building at 417 North Massachusetts Ave began its life in 1964 as the chapel of a funeral home and was last used as a house of worship in 2017.&hellip; <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":28550,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","_seopress_robots_follow":"","_seopress_robots_imageindex":"","_seopress_robots_snippet":"","_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"0","_seopress_robots_breadcrumbs":"","_seopress_robots_freeze_modified_date":"","_seopress_robots_custom_modified_date":"","_seopress_robots_canonical":"","_seopress_social_fb_title":"","_seopress_social_fb_desc":"","_seopress_social_fb_img":"","_seopress_social_fb_img_attachment_id":0,"_seopress_social_fb_img_width":0,"_seopress_social_fb_img_height":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_title":"","_seopress_social_twitter_desc":"","_seopress_social_twitter_img":"","_seopress_social_twitter_img_attachment_id":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_img_width":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_img_height":0,"_seopress_redirections_value":"","_seopress_redirections_enabled":"","_seopress_redirections_enabled_regex":"","_seopress_redirections_logged_status":"","_seopress_redirections_param":"","_seopress_redirections_type":0,"_seopress_analysis_target_kw":"","inline_featured_image":false,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"wpai_generated_summary":"","footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"dois","default_image_id":71799,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"_wpas_customize_per_network":false},"categories":[6],"tags":[4183],"class_list":["post-28548","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-community","tag-local-businessmen-want-to-revive-an-old-abandoned-church-building-into-a-public-house-bar"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28548","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=28548"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28548\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/28550"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=28548"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=28548"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=28548"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}