The Circle Church was demolished in April 2024, and its 1.62-acre lot remains vacant this week as city staff await design permit applications. (Stephen Baxter — Santa Cruz Local)
SANTA CRUZ >> Nearly five years since the Santa Cruz City Council approved up to 12 homes and 12 in-law units at the Circle Church site in Santa Cruz, nothing has been built and city planners await design applications from owners.
The church and other buildings at 111 Errett Circle were demolished in April 2024.
The city council in May 2020 approved plans for both 12 single-family lots with ADUs and a separate plan for 10 single-family lots with up to four ADUs and six condos. Despite several attempts, Santa Cruz Local was unable to reach developer Brett Packer and two other owners about their development plans. An advertisement for three of the lots states that 10 homes are planned.
“Each individual parcel will require an Administrative Design Permit followed by a building permit for a new single-family home to be built on each lot,” Santa Cruz City Planner Ryan Bane wrote in an email. “At this point we have not received an application for a Design Permit to construct any homes.”
Each lot is individually owned, and each owner can construct their housing on their own timeline. The cohousing concept includes common areas on the land. Cohousing projects in Santa Cruz County and elsewhere often include shared meals, cooking, laundry, communal activities and consensus-led decision making.
Lots 8, 9 and 10 near Errett Circle and Younglove Avenue were listed for sale for $4.2 million in total or $1.4 million each in October on Redfin.com and Trulia.com. They remained for sale on the websites on March 12.
“Each home will have a minimum of two parking spots, and an 8,000 sq. ft. open space will serve as the community hub,” the Trulia advertisement states. “Join us in building a brighter future where sustainable living meets community engagement.”
The church at 111 Errett Circle is razed in April 2024. (Stephen Baxter — Santa Cruz Local file)
Packer, who has been a spokesperson for Circle of Friends, expressed frustration with delays in 2022. “It’s a difficult process that takes much longer than we had anticipated,” Packer said of demolition. “We’re all anxious to build, we’re anxious to be living there.”
The housing plan started when Garfield Park Christian Church leaders sold the property to 12 investors from Circle of Friends LLC for $3.26 million In December 2017, according to county records and the Circle of Friends website.
The congregation later changed its name to Greater Purpose Community Church. Pastor MaKendree VanHall, formerly known as Christopher Drury, announced in 2018 that the church would open Greater Purpose Brewery.
After an attempt to open the brewery at the former Logos bookstore on Pacific Avenue in Downtown Santa Cruz, Greater Purpose Brewing opened at 21517 East Cliff Drive in 2020. Its website and VanHall’s personal website went offline in March 2022 after a Santa Cruz Local reporter requested information that year.
The brewery on East Cliff permanently closed in July 2023.
The Garfield Park Christian Church, commonly called the Circle Church, is pictured in 2021. The church was built in 1958 on the same location Garfield Park Tabernacle stood from 1890 until it burned down in 1935. (Nik Altenberg — Santa Cruz Local file)
Read more:
Questions or comments? Email [email protected]. Santa Cruz Local is supported by members, major donors, sponsors and grants for the general support of our newsroom. Our news judgments are made independently and not on the basis of donor support. Learn more about Santa Cruz Local and how we are funded.
Tyler Maldonado holds a degree in English from the University of California, Berkeley. He writes about housing, homelessness and the environment. He lives in Santa Cruz County.
