Harvest Point Buys UAW 1714 Hall for $400K

LORDSTOWN, Ohio — After housing the United Auto Workers Local 1714 for more than 45 years, the union hall at 2121 Carson Salt Springs Road has a new owner.

In a press release Wednesday, Platz Realty Group announced the sale of the hall to Harvest Point Church of Lordstown.

Harvest Point purchased the space for $400,000, says Ken Evans, chairperson of the elders for the church. After renting their former space at 6100 Tod Ave. for 19 years, owning a space is “a great feeling,” he says.

“It’s a goal that we’ve been searching for for 19 years and we know it’s not going to take place in the blink of an eye,” Evans says. “It’s been God’s blessing that we were able to receive it.”

Harvest Point, which is affiliated with the Church of God in Anderson, Ind., has a congregation that fluctuates between 50 and 80, Evans says. It had outgrown the space at Tod Avenue and was planning to build new until the union hall came available after Locals 1714 and 1112 merged.

In the fall of 2019, Harvest Point started the purchase process, working with Platz Realty and First National Bank to finance the sale.

“The hall has everything they need from worship space and offices, to the picnic pavilion and baseball fields; all for a fraction of the cost to build a new facility,” says Dan Crouse, agent at Platz Realty Group. “The UAW took magnificent care of the building and grounds, and church members are anxious to get the baseball fields into playing shape.”

Harvest Point bought six of the 42-acre parcel and the UAW is offering the remaining 35 acres for $400,000, Crouse says. The land is zoned business and industrial.

“On a personal note, this has been a building dedicated to fellowship and improving the lives of people for 45 years, I am happy to see that mission will continue with Harvest Point,” Crouse says.

In light of the coronavirus pandemic and the DeWine administration’s stay-at-home order effectively halting face-to-face services, Harvest Point will have to wait to move in, Evans says. There is some renovation work to be done, such as replacing UAW signage with church signage and converting office space into Sunday school rooms, which the church will do “as quickly as possible once the order is lifted,” he says.

The full basketball court inside will stay as is, he notes.

“We prefer to keep it in that manner so it can be utilized, especially by the youth or whatever the situation may be,” Evans says, adding the church can hold banquets in the room.

Once renovations are complete, the church will hold a dedication service with state officials and area ministries, he says.

Currently, Harvest Point conducts services, youth group meetings and Sunday school by Zoom video conferences. If a member of the congregation needs anything, the church does what it can to accommodate, leaving the item on the individual’s front porch, Evans says.

So far, nobody has made any food requests, but Evans says the church has contributed to the backpack program with Lordstown Local School District.

Pictured: UAW Local 1714 union hall located at 2121 Carson Salt Springs Road. (Image: Platz Realty Group)

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