Rivera Beach Church Closes After 75 Years
The First Baptist Church located in Riviera, which has served as the city’s Haitian community’s focal point for 75 years, is now being evicted. It seems a few deputies from the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office were in charge of it for a portion of time.
But the church has recently struggled, spending money on costly but essential renovations to address code issues before losing the property due to what church attorneys have called a misleading loan from a few years ago.
First Baptist attendees continued to gather there for worship after the church went into default on that debt ten years ago because it was kept open on a month-to-month lease.
A legal setback suffered after years of appeals last week allowed for eviction.
There won’t be any more church services from here on out.
The pastor’s son left the church feeling as though he may have attended First Baptist for the final time while deputies oversaw the eviction.
When asked if he believed he’d ever get his church back, Himburton Altidor responded, “I can’t even think right now, but it’s part of life. I’m not sure. Everything is possible with God.”
Attorneys for the church submitted petition to the court seeking an injunction to prevent the property’s new owners from tearing down the place of worship.
The Intracoastal Waterway is a block away from the property.
It had previously belonged to a Miami-based corporation, which sold it in February for $1.3 million to an organization connected to entrepreneur Wayne Huizenga Jr..
A corporate representative would not say what plans there were (if any) for the location.
