Gregory Stock, AIAHistoric Church near Downtown Orlando Becomes Townhomes
In an unusual move for Orlando, instead of razing a structure to build new, Mark Kinchla has transformed the former United Pentecostal Church near downtown into five townhomes. Each unit has three stories, a garage for two cars, its own elevator, exposed historic brick and rooftop-terrace view of the Orlando skyline. It will be called: Samsara, which is Sanskrit for rebirth.
Built in 1928, the building is not, by itself, on the National Register of Historic Places. But it is part of the Lake Eola Heights Historic District, which is on the National Register. So Kinchla was required to preserve a lot of the structure, including the window frames.
Read Paul Brinkman’s Complete article in the Orlando Sentinel with a video interview and over 40 construction photos at the link: http://www.orlandosentinel.com/business/brinkmann-on-business/os-united-pentecostal-church-renovation-lake-eola-heights-20150824-story.html