In a deal with city officials, members of a Baltimore-based revival Baptist church are proposing a massive “Holy City of Zion” in the Seton community, including a 4,000-seat worship hall, Christian school, gym, family life center, chapel and garage.
New Psalmist Baptist Church?s $100 million projects sits directly on the county-city line, sandwiched between PattersonAvenue and Northern Parkway in the Seton Business Park.
The 32-acre site will require shuttle buses and traffic officers to direct congestion during two Sunday services, alarming neighborhood residents.
“Patterson Avenue can?t hold anymore traffic,” Barbara Justice said at a community input meeting Monday night. “It?s terrible.”
The project has won the support of county planners, who cite the church?s public benefits and 150 new jobs it will bring. But city officials have a different reason for their enthusiasm: They want New Psalmist?s existing property on Old Frederick Road in northwest to complete the redevelopment of the adjacent Uplands Apartment complex.
The city approached church members and asked them to move to the city-owned Seton park, said Kimberly Tarver, an attorney for New Psalmist.
“We had to consider how that new housing would impact the church,” Tarver said.
With more than 7,000 members, New Psalmist is “Baltimore?s best-kept secret,” according to member Anthony Vaughn. The church commissioned a study on its potential road impacts, which Vaughn said will be minimal, considering the neighborhood and business park is quiet on Sundays.
Baltimore County?s Planning Board reviewed the proposal last week, when several members expressed concern that the sprawling site will occupy a significant chunk of land zoned for manufacturing use ? a decreasing commodity, they said.
The only access to the church will be from Northern Parkway, which is within city limits. Officials hope to complete the project by 2010.
