SHREVEPORT, La. -- Summer Grove Baptist Church may purchase a mall wracked by a dwindling number of tenants and use the property as a community activity center, The Times reported.
Church leaders have proposed the idea of buying the $5 million South Park Mall to the 5,000-member congregation, which will make the final decision, according to the Rev. Gary Baxter, executive pastor. Members were told a more detailed plan about possible use would be presented within a couple of months, the paper reported.
"The church is looking down the road," said city councilman Mike Gibson, a Summer Grove member. "I think it is in line with what the city is doing, which is embracing new opportunity."
Shreveport Mayor Keith Hightower agreed.
"It is obviously a huge piece of real estate and we need a tenant that would be a strong anchor," Hightower said. "I don't like the fact that it means a potential tax loss, but the reality is, is that it is already that anyway."
Mall owners are considering uses other than retail after losing a string of tenants, including anchors Montgomery Ward, Dillards and JC Penney.
