After years of planning, the historic First Baptist Church in downtown Phoenix is closer to becoming a new event venue.
Housing Opportunity Center Inc. is planning to turn the Italian gothic-style church at the northwest corner of Third Avenue and Monroe Street into a venue with ballroom, conference and courtyard spaces for private and public events. Plans also call for a restaurant, according to a Phoenix Industrial Development Authority report detailing plans for the project in September 2023.
The property, to be called the Monroe Street Abbey, was acquired by Housing Opportunity Center after it was damaged in a 1984 fire. Located at 302 W. Monroe St., it was built in 1929.
The church has sat vacant since the fire while former Phoenix mayor and attorney Terry Goddard, through the Housing Opportunity Center, has been spearheading efforts to rehabilitate and redevelop the former church into a mixed-use space, the Phoenix Business Journal reported in 2016.
