PARRAMORE, Fla. — The Black Bottom House of Prayer is well on its way to opening its doors to the Parramore community after construction crews placed a new roof on the building after it was destroyed in 2019 by Hurricane Ian.
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For the past two years, Interstruct Design + Build has been helping to restore a historic piece of property to lend a hand to the community.
“We took on this project to be more involved in the Parramore community,” said Joe Horsch, Site Superintendent for Interstruct Design + Build.
Pastor Dana Jackson, who bought the church in 2015, plans to use the building as a refuge in the Parramore community.
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“[The church will be] a place of strength, place of support services in the back. We had six offices upstairs that used to be Sunday School classrooms. And so we want to have some historic office space,” said Pastor Jackson.
To get started two years ago on the restoration, the church received a $500,000 African American culture grant. The grant has helped with the construction costs so far.
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“It’s really cool to be a part of the history and work on it. Bringing another sanctuary and a place of worship back to a local community really feels good for me,” said Horsch.
Pastor Jackson said she hopes to secure another $500,000 through city and state funding to work on the interior, with the help of donations as well.
The plan is to reconstruct the church’s original state from 99 years ago.
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Once restored, the church will offer free church service, tutoring, community support, and other services like music lessons and scholarship opportunities to the Parramore community.
“I’m just a vessel. I’m here to receive what the Lord has for this community here,” said Pastor Jackson.
The Black Bottom House of Prayer is expected to be finished in the next year.
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