As rumors swirl about a second developer preparing to bid on the foreclosed LH Plaza shopping center, one potential buyer now has what other bidders couldn’t quite secure – financing.

Lake Highlands United Methodist Church announced Sunday that they’ve been approved for 100% financing by the Texas Methodist Foundation in their bid to purchase the property. “We can afford to own it,” said Russell May, chairman of the church’s Stewardship and Finance Committee. “God is in the driver’s seat.”

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The church hosted a Town Hall meeting to discuss progress on the deal with members of their congregation, and they’ll have another info session Wednesday at 6 pm.

LHUMC first looked at the property, located at the southwest corner of Walnut Hill and Audelia, when it was making plans to redesign its sanctuary. The property was too expensive at the time – $8 million – so the church scraped and rebuilt in the same spot. When the center fell into foreclosure, brainstorming began about a satellite facility there, with the goal being to reach a young audience being drawn away from conventional mainstream churches. Though 34% of Lake Highlands residents are aged 27-47, only 14% of church membership falls into that group. “We’re not reaching the younger generation real well,” said Senior Pastor John Thornton, “and it’s a large generation.”

Earlier this summer the church formed a partnership with White Rock UMC and began bidding on the property, but discussion stopped when local broker, The Retail Connection, submitted a higher bid. The purchase hinged, in part, on financing from an investment group of LH homeowners who weren’t able to put the money together. That put LHUMC back in the running.

LHUMC hopes to use the site for unconventional outreaches like a coffee house, book store and/or preschool to bring new life to the center and to the church. “There was a time when all a church had to do was open the doors,” said Pastor Thornton. First folks came to worship, then they joined a Sunday School class and volunteered to serve.

“Today’s young families think church is stale,” he added. Instead they are attracted to participate when the church is serving the community and touching lives, which leads them to join a small group then become a member. “We’ve got a challenge but also an opportunity,” Thornton said.

But the church may not be the only viable bidder. Sources tell me there’s another group hoping to buy low and split the property into two pieces – one single-family homes and the other retail. Although multiple homebuilders have expressed interest in developing homesites, none are willing to take on the risk of purchasing the entire ten acres. In today’s economy, the litmus test for evaluating buyers is likely to remain access to financing. We’ll continue to update you here on the Advocate’s BackTalk Blog.