Christ Church moves forward with long-term expansion plan

Christ Church of Longboat Key is advancing plans for the organization’s long-term vision for increased parking and spiritual connectivity. 

Demolition of the plaza next to Christ Church, which housed offices such as Reed Medical Group, occurred in the last two weeks, leaving the lot empty for the church's plan.

Christ Church purchased the 1.3-acre lot and plaza in 2015 for $1.1 million under a limited liability company, 6350 GMD LLC, organized by church representatives but not under the name of Christ Church since the church is a non-profit organization. 

The Rev. Julia Piermont of Christ Church said the church spent some money to renovate the plaza when it purchased the property, and one goal was to help support Dr. James Reed. 

“We were able to support Dr. Reed in creating a full practice on Longboat Key,” Piermont said.

Reed operated into 2024, but within a 13-month span, Piermont said the plaza flooded three times. The last time was in Hurricane Helene, which Piermont said caused significant flooding to the building. 

Photo by Carter Weinhofer

Discussions between church representatives and the tenants ensued and Piermont said both sides realized continuing the same path with the risk of future flooding was not ideal. 

“We all agreed this was not viable anymore,” Piermont said. 

Reed received an opportunity to move his practice into The Paradise Center on the south end of Longboat Key, and the two sides came to an agreement. 

“For us, it was the natural time to go forward with our long-term plan,” Piermont said.

Reed moved into the Paradise Medical Suite in the week after Hurricane Milton. His practice took over the space from Dr. Daren Spinelle, who was uncertain about continuing his practice in the Paradise Medical Suite after the hurricanes. 

Piermont added she and other church representatives felt satisfied with how they could catalyze Reed’s goal of having a full-service practice on Longboat Key, but it was time to move forward with what had been the church’s long-term plan. 

The lot at 6350 Gulf of Mexico Drive, next to Christ Church, now stands dormant with the plaza demolished and the land leveled. 

For Christ Church, one focus of this new project is to increase parking for its active congregation. 

During the peak tourist and snowbird season, Piermont said it’s often a full congregation in the church, with continued support throughout the rest of the year, too. 

While the focus is increasing parking, Piermont described it as putting the “park” back in “parking lot.” This includes a beautification aspect that makes the area visually appealing and connected to the church. 

“Our goal is to be spiritually inviting from the curb,” Piermont said. 

The church is in conversations with landscape architects to plan and develop the lot, but because of a list of preliminary and detailed steps needing to take place, there is no set timeline for the project or end date in mind, according to Piermont. 

This long-term vision was in mind when the church voted to purchase the property in 2015. 

The church’s congregation at the time unanimously approved the purchase during a Sunday service in April 2015. 

According to a previous article published by the Observer, the church agreed to honor the leases for the existing tenants before moving forward with their plans. 

Christ Church formed in 2005 and started its meetings at Bayfront Park before moving to Mediterranean Plaza a year later. 

Then, members of the church began discussions to build a worship center and started the Just Imagine fundraising campaign, which raised $4.5 million by 2009 to build the church. Construction began in 2010 on what is now Christ Church. 

Members then began the Just Imagine II campaign to raise additional funds for the additional parking and property purchase. The plan was to raise funds for the purchase and also pay off some of the church’s remaining construction debt to free up additional funding for mission and outreach purposes.