CLEVELAND — Cove City Church in downtown Cleveland is in the middle of an expansion project after purchasing a neighboring building that once housed a strip club.

“It’s pretty amazing, actually. To be honest, it seems a little surreal,” said Pastor Josh Miller of Cove Town Church.

Miller spoke to me inside the 5,600-square-foot warehouse along St. Clair Avenue near E 25th Street. The church acquired the space in the summer of 2023 after makes a bid at a foreclosure auction.

Over the past year, the building has been gutted.

“So we could do what God wanted us to do, which was have an events center, an auditorium here and a cafe here,” Miller said.

A different style than when the building housed The Velvet Rope, a gentlemen’s club, in an area Miller said could be described as strip club row due to the number of strip clubs remaining tease.

“It was like Mardi Gras on the weekend. There were cars everywhere. It was parties everywhere,” Miller said.

“So it’s kind of ironic. The church is buying the old strip club,” I asked Miller.

“It’s a bit surreal, isn’t it?” Miller responded.

Cove City Church moved down the block in 2021. By then, The Velvet Rope had closed, but its signage was still attached to the property.

In August 2023, Miller obtained the keys to the building after a successful bid at a foreclosure auction.

“I believe the greatest impact churches can have is when they look beyond those four walls and ask, ‘What are the needs of the community?’ And how can you serve the community? » Miller said.

He sees the reimagined space hosting concerts, community celebrations and serving coffee to customers on their way to work or school.

“We hope it will be an employment resource center for the community, because that’s what it is.” This goes beyond Sunday morning,” Miller said.

Granny Anne’s dry cleaners are located a stone’s throw from the church. Dave Hunsinger opened the business, named for his grandmother, in the 1990s. He said the neighborhood remains a nice place despite businesses coming and going over the years and fluctuating crime.

“I think the neighborhood is hoping that the police station on the corner will be a big help,” Hunsinger said. “Everyone is looking for better retail here. So the idea of ​​the church opening a cute cafe is great.

Hunsinger said when The Velvet Rope closed, it was a good thing for many in the community.

“There are way too many shootings. It was a bad club. There’s nothing wrong with clubs like that if people are responsible. And people come and go to their house, but that wasn’t the kind of place it was,” Hunsinger said.

He wants the expansion of the Church to be successful.

Church member Isaac Burnson is one of many who have contributed to the project. He wants the new space to help people grow in their faith and sense of community.

“A space of refuge for people, where they can come, regardless of their lifestyle,” Brunson said.

Brunson and his wife have been attending the church for about two years.

“I just experienced the presence of Jesus here,” Brunson said. “It’s important to me. It was important to my wife and the way they welcomed us as a family…there was no need to look anywhere else.

Brunson said her pastor’s passion for helping others is contagious.

“I look forward to what the future holds for us here,” Brunson said.

Miller said the expansion is a continuation of the church’s outreach efforts, which include work with the homeless and the nonprofit Building Hope in the City, which rehabilitates homes to bring affordable housing in Cleveland.

Miller said he hopes to open his church’s new event space and cafe by the end of next year.