San Antonio church is under construction five years after devastating roof collapse, flood

Avery Everett, Reporter

Ricardo Moreno, Photojournalist

SAN ANTONIO – Tarps and tape have taken over Travis Park United Methodist Church. The construction, however, marks a sign of progress for Lead Pastor Cynthia Engstrom.

“Obstacles have befallen us over the years, but the doors keep opening up,” Engstrom said.

Friday marks five years since the church’s youth building roof collapsed due to heavy rain. The cave-in caused a sprinkler line to burst, leaving leaks and flooded halls.

But now, years later, the main renovations of this building are underway. The church hopes to reopen its sanctuary by Christmas.

“We don’t just see our survival. We see our future,” David Stone, the lead for trustees at the church, said.

KSAT 12 first covered the collapse on Oct. 25, 2019. In the days after it happened, crews cleaned what they could.

Anna Nau, a senior associate with Ford Powell & Carson Architects, said the damage revealed the need for the church to have a full restoration.

“Millions of dollars worth of needed repair work for these buildings,” Nau said.

The current construction project is split into four phases. The church confirmed phase one of this project is on track, which means the sanctuary should reopen by Christmas.

“I’m thinking, and hoping, it’ll be a full house,” Stone said.

For more than 170 years, Stone said this church has been a safe place for all San Antonio residents.

“A lot of (people) feel like there’s no church for me, but there is,” Stone said.

Other phases of this project will include modernization and upgrades across all floors of the building. No timeline regarding these phases has been released just yet.

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