CLEVELAND — Cove City Church in Downtown Cleveland is in the middle of an expansion project after purchasing a building next door to it that once housed a strip club.
"It's quite incredible, actually. It feels a little bit surreal to be honest,” said Pastor Josh Miller of Cove City Church.
Miller spoke to me inside the 5,600-square-foot warehouse space along St. Clair Avenue near E. 25th Street. The church acquired the space in the summer of 2023 after placing a bid in a foreclosure auction.
Over the last year, the building has been gutted.
“So that we could do what God wanted us to do, which is to have an event center, have an auditorium space here, and have the coffee shop here,” Miller said.
A different flair from when the building was home to The Velvet Rope, a gentleman’s club, in an area Miller said could be called strip club row due to the number of remaining strip clubs.
“It was like Mardi Gras on the weekends. There was cars everywhere. It was partying everywhere,” Miller said.
"So, kind of ironic. The church buys the former strip club,” I asked Miller.
“It's kind of surreal, isn't it?” Miller responded.
Cove City Church moved to the block in 2021. By then, The Velvet Rope had closed, but its signage was still attached to the property.
In August of 2023, Miller got the keys to the building after a successful bid in a foreclosure auction.
“The greatest impact that I believe churches can have is when they look outside these four walls and go, 'What are the needs of the community? And how can you serve the community?” Miller said.
He sees the re-imagined space hosting concerts, community celebrations and serving coffee to customers on their way to work and school.
“Our hope is that it could be a job resource center for the community, because that's what it's all about. It's beyond the Sunday morning thing,” Miller said.
Granny Anne’s Dry Cleaning is a stone’s throw from the church. Dave Hunsinger opened the business, named after his grandmother, in the 1990s. He said the neighborhood remains a fine place to be despite companies coming and going over the years and fluctuating crime.
“I think the neighborhood's hopeful that the police station going up around the corner will help out a lot,” Hunsinger said. “Everyone's looking for better retail around here. So, the thoughts of the church opening up a nice coffee shop is great.”
Hunsinger said that when The Velvet Rope closed, it was good for many in the community.
“There's way too many shootings. It was a bad club. There's nothing wrong with clubs like that if people are responsible. And people come and go home, but that wasn't the kind of place it was,” Hunsinger said.
He’s rooting for the church’s expansion to be successful.
Church member Isaac Burnson is one of many who put in sweat equity on the project. He wants the new space to help people grow in their faith and sense of community.
“A space of refuge for people, that they can come, no matter what their walk of life is,” Brunson said.
Brunson and his wife have been attending the church for about two years.
“I just experienced the presence of Jesus here,” Brunson said. “That's important to me. It was important to my wife and just the way they embraced us as a family… it was no need to look anywhere else.”
Brunson said his pastor’s passion for helping others is contagious.
“Looking forward to what the future holds here,” Brunson said.
Miller said the expansion is a continuation of the church’s outreach, which includes working with the homeless and the nonprofit Building Hope in the City, which is rehabbing homes to bring affordable housing to Cleveland.
Miller said he hopes to have his church’s new event space and coffee shop opened by the end of next year.
