Davenport Pulls Out Of Baptist Church Project

 HARWICH – The Davenport Companies notified the town it will not move forward with the acquisition of the West Harwich Baptist Church, which was to be repurposed as housing, leaving the future of the historic building up in the air. 

The town was serving as an intermediary between Davenport Companies and the church owner, First Baptist Church of West Harwich and Dennisport, to help clear title issues on the 1.62-acre parcel, which also contains the Baptist Cemetery. The town agreed to use eminent domain to clear the title, allowing the property to then be conveyed to Davenport Companies. 

“The town would have owned the property for a half an hour at the registry of deeds before turning it over to Davenport Companies,” Select Board Chair Donald Howell said.

The Davenport Companies was the sole bidder for the development of year-round housing in the church. The company agreed to pay the church owners $300,000 for the land and structures, with $10,000 going to the town to reimburse expenses as the intermediary. The church was to be redeveloped into 10 to 13 housing units.    

In a press release, the company said, “We believe it would have been a great project in meeting the needs of both workforce housing for the community and preservation of the history of the church within the spirit of local zoning.”

 As part of the transaction, a special town meeting approved a provision requiring the retention of architectural, historic and cultural significance of the exterior of the church, built in the 1880s. However, Davenport sought permission to demolish the structure and build a replica, which was met with opposition from residents and town officials. The historic district and historical commission approved a one-year demolition delay on the project in January. There have been several executive session meetings held between the town and company representatives since then.   

 A statement issued by Davenport companies on Friday reads: “Earlier in the year, our permitting process was extended for one year and we had planned to move forward in January of 2026. At this time, we have decided to proceed with other workforce housing projects in Harwich.”

 “They’re blaming the regulatory environment for that,” Howell said.

Earlier this month, Davenport received multi-family use and site plan special permits from the town to convert an office building two lots east of the church into eight one-bedroom apartments and two studios.

 Howell said he would be meeting with town counsel to discuss the next steps regarding the church. 

As for the $10,000 to be reimbursed for expenses, Howell said that will be discussed with counsel, and the town will have to determine what the costs are.

“Everybody should be a little more careful in what they are giving money out for,” he said of the town agreeing to serve as an intermediary. 

Should anybody step forward to purchase the property, they may be required to deal with the boundary title issues. Howell said the town still has concerns about the building, given that it was the centerpiece of the West Harwich District of Critical Planning Concern.