Northern Colorado church building contaminated with methamphetamine sold for $1.3 million

A Northern Colorado church building that has served as a gathering place and resource for homeless people in Fort Collins is expected to be demolished and replaced after the Fort Collins Mennonite Fellowship sold the property for $1.3 million.

In December, methamphetamine contamination was found in the building, according to church pastor Steve Ramer.

Ramer and his congregation have long called the building home. Located about a block from Fort Collins' popular Old Town shopping district, the church became known for opening its doors to people experiencing homelessness.

The congregation offered the building as a place to find shelter, eat and shower.

"We take the teachings of Jesus to be very serious and to be followed, and so Jesus is pretty clear that we are to take care of and serve the poorest and the most oppressed in our society, and here in Fort Collins, that certainly is the homeless community," said Steve Ramer, pastor of Fort Collins Mennonite Fellowship.

Ramer said the church's efforts have also drawn scrutiny over the years.

"We've, over the last 10 to 15 years, have faced a lot of pushback. Not only from the housed neighbors in this neighborhood, but from the city," Ramer said.

Ramer said the congregation could not afford to clean up the meth contamination, leading the church to sell the property.

"It's been an incredibly painful experience for us as a congregation," Ramer said.

Ramer said he does not know what will ultimately be built on the property, but pointed to million-dollar condominiums that have gone up on two corners of the intersection shared by the church. He expects something similar could eventually be built where the church now stands. The new owners have surrounded the existing structure with security fencing.

 The prospect of losing the building has been difficult for the congregation.

"It was a place of miracle and wonder, and we are so, so heartbroken to lose that resource and to lose it in the middle of Fort Collins, where the need is so great. Let me make this clear: (homeless visitors) were members of our church family," Ramer said.

The Fort Collins Mennonite Fellowship is still meeting in other temporary locations while members search for a permanent home.

Once the congregation finds a permanent location, Ramer said it plans to continue its outreach to people experiencing homelessness.

Ramer also said he will never ask someone visiting his church to take a drug test and will never turn someone away because of the way they smell.