Going, Going, Gone

By Victor Rogers July 13, 2017

Going, Going, Gone

Making Room for the Campus Safety Facility

Construction is booming in Atlanta, and the Georgia Tech campus has its share, including a project at the corner of 10th Street and Hemphill Avenue.

Over the past several months, the building at 490 10th Street was demolished to make space for the Campus Safety Facility, which will be the new home of the Georgia Tech Police Department. The buildings included a former church and its annex. The building was last used as a church in 1988, and part of the sanctuary was used as a call center during the 1996 Olympic Games.

During the demolition, some elements of the building were carefully salvaged and will be reused in the Living Building at Georgia Tech. Others were salvaged and sent to the Lifecycle Building Center, a local nonprofit founded by Tech alumni that works to keep construction materials out of landfills and give them new life.

The buildings at the corner of 10th Street and Hemphill included a former church and its annex. The last time the building was used as a church was in 1988.

Part of the sanctuary was used as a call center during the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games.

Fallen ceiling tiles and abandoned office furniture was commonplace for many years.

Light fixtures in the sanctuary are reminders of the building’s former glory.

A variety of materials, such as these light fixtures, were salvaged and will be repurposed.

Peeling paint and a water-damaged ceiling fills a space that once was used for choir practice.

A long abandoned water fountain collects debris.

A painted mural over the baptismal pool suffered water damage.

Close-up of mural over the baptismal pool.

The stained-glass windows could not be repurposed because of their high level of lead.

Georgia Tech’s Rehabilitation Engineering and Applied Research (REAR) Lab used to be housed under the sanctuary of the church. The lab’s R&D targets the increased health and function of persons with disabilities.