Lights accent details of the high-vaulted ceiling of the former St. Michael the Archangel Church in Lansford, while candles glow around tall floral centerpieces on round tables surrounded by gilded chairs.

That’s one of the visions business partners George Haleem and Michael Klaips have for the interior of the 112-year-old gothic-style, granite church that has sat vacant along East Abbott Street for years.

The partners, under Mauch Chunk Holdings LLC, see the cathedral-like structure as a cultural or performing arts center and a special events venue that would allow the community to continue to celebrate milestones.

They envision people celebrating marriages, births, and reunions as well as watching piano and other music recitals, theatrical performances or even comedy shows in the space.

Haleem and Klaips purchased the building last Friday and plan to invest more than $700,000 in the first phase of the restoration and renovation of the church property, which includes the rectory and school.

The dollar amount includes the purchase price and the estimated $210,000 needed to repair the roofs of the structures to prevent further damage. They also secured purchase of the church’s original parking lots, which had been sold.

Explaining the project

On Tuesday, the partners came before Lansford’s zoning hearing board seeking approval of their plans to use the church as a multi-use venue, the rectory as a whole house, long- or short-term rental and the school as up to 15 apartments, also as long- or short-term rentals.

The rentals would be in conjunction with the events venue, such as the rectory as a whole house rental with up to 10 bedrooms for a bridal party, and the apartments in the school for wedding guests, ideally couples, or couples with children in larger one-bedroom or two-bedroom rentals.

Both partners met and talked with neighbors and residents who told them they were baptized or married in the church, or their parents’ funeral services were from the church.

“We’ve been hearing all these stories about how the church was an integral part of the community, and everybody’s lives who lived here,” Klaips said. “We feel with this use ... we’re recommitting to that, to bringing the community back in that building.

“People can come together and they can celebrate marriages and births and everything else that comes along with that, as they did when it was a church,” he said.

Klaips, a construction manager, said he and his wife, who is an interior designer, own an historic 1840s inn, the Londonderry Inn, outside Hershey which offers luxury accommodations and serves as a venue for weddings, rehearsal dinners, baby showers, reunions and birthdays.

“We also have vacation rental properties in vacation areas where we rent out short term to families looking to get out of town and enjoy themselves,” he said.

The partners have experience with short-term rentals, and say they strictly control who stays at their properties and require rental agreements setting forth rules such as quiet hours.

The buildings will have security cameras, maintenance and housekeeping staff as well as a manager with a 24/7 availability, they told the board.

“I will tell you, our properties, most of them are historic, and we take a lot of pride in that. We feel like we’re stewards of the properties,” Klaips said. “So, we want to take care of our properties. We don’t want somebody coming in and not taking care of them.”

Community support

Bruce Markovich, borough council president, spoke on behalf of the Lansford Historical Society, which wants to work with the owners on getting historic tax credits for the property.

“Our position is ‘are we better off with this project or without it?’” he told the board. “We’re probably looking at $2 or $3 million to tear down a middle school at some point in the future. If we turn down this project, we have to come up with a few more million dollars to tear down this church.”

Markovich noted the roofs need repairs, and once the roofs go, so do the buildings, as with the former Silver’s Furniture building.

“We’re willing to work with them,” he said, and also gave the board a letter of support from Kathy Henderson, interim executive director and director of Economic Development of the Carbon Chamber and Economic Development.

Henderson noted that there is a renewed interest in revitalizing Lansford with the train station and Kiddie Kloes projects.

“The restoration of an iconic church and its surrounding buildings in Lansford is a project that doesn’t come along often,” she wrote. “I would hope you consider approving the zoning request for this project.”

Several residents also spoke on behalf of the project - most neighbors, who support the buildings being restored and used again.

One woman pointed out there are numerous buildings with apartments that don’t have parking, and they’re allowed - as board members questioned having adequate parking, even with the former church lots.

Resident Joe Pavlis, who lives across the street from St. Michael, said there was never a problem with parking when the church operated or even when the street was shut down for block parties. He pointed to additional parking on Walnut Street and East Water Street.

Resident Mark Krajcirik, who bought the church parking lots from the Diocese of Allentown a few years ago, said he sold the lots back to provide the parking needed for what was being envisioned.

“We love St. Mike’s. Our whole lives were there,” he said, adding that they don’t want to see it sitting and deteriorating. “These gentlemen obviously have a viable plan, not like the prior owner.”

A $700,000 investment in the first phase of the project speaks volumes, Krajcirik added.

Board members raised concerns about short-term rentals, which other communities are having issues with right now. Haleem and Klaips gave assurances to them.

The board broke for an executive session to discuss the Mauch Chunk Holdings request. No decision was made, and the hearing was continued for approximately 30 days to allow the partners to provide a formal parking plan for the lots.

The partners estimated 80 to 90 parking spaces, but the board wanted to see a site plan for the parking, which was the only deficiency noted by the board.

Final approval will be considered at the next zoning meeting.

Sharing a vision

Before the hearing Tuesday, Haleem and Klaips visited the property and shared their vision moving forward.

The roof repairs are the first priority, they said, and the first phase of the project would involve renovations of the rectory and church. The school renovations would come later, they said.

The first level of the church, the social hall or basement, would be completely renovated with a new kitchen and bathrooms for catering and an event space.

Upstairs, the main church space would have its remaining treasures, such as intricate iron work, carved wood doors, panels and staircases and towering pipe organ, restored.

Some pieces of the organ were taken down to prevent damage from leaking roof, but the organ does still play, Klaips said.

The bells in the 169½-foot tall clock tower and steeple which reaches toward the heavens above the borough also work. They flipped a switch in the sacristy, bringing one to life for a few moments.

They hope to be able to ring the bells for weddings, or play Christmas carols during the holidays, as was done in the past.

Haleem and Klaips hope to find original wood or stone flooring under the red wall-to-wall carpeting. They see the space set up for performances or for wedding ceremonies.

Chairs used for seating during a ceremony could be taken down and replaced with dinner tables and chairs while guests enjoyed a cocktail hour in the former social hall, or possibly the choir loft, they said.

The church no longer has its large stained glass windows, but the rectory still has one window depicting St. Michael the Archangel.

The rectory would get a new kitchen and renovations for the bedrooms, living space, game room and sunroom for guests to enjoy while gathering for a special occasion and visiting nearby attractions.

The guest rooms and apartments would feature simple, clean designs, which would be welcoming, they said.

Financing is in place to move forward with the first phase, which included the purchase price which they chose not to disclose, saying only the initial investment was $700,000.

Deeds recorded in the Carbon County Courthouse show transactions between Mauch Chunk Holdings LLC of Warminster and Mark J. Krajcirik, who held the parking lots, and Ericka Williams-Rodriguez, the last owner of the church, rectory and school, in the amounts of $37,500 and $100,000, respectively.

The deeds were recorded June 16.