The new Sanctuary Apartments in Wayne will be hosting an open house on Friday, July 7 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., in the former First Baptist Church located at Fourth and Main Streets in Wayne.
Members of the public can tour the building’s six apartment units, which are still under construction, but hope to be completed in August. Tours will begin in the southeast unit on Main Street.
The original building and former church was built in 1909 and has remained relatively unchanged since then. After the church’s congregation decided to sell the building due to high upkeep expenses, there was a high risk of the building being torn down with a sale. A group of local Wayne investors came together to save the historic building and repurpose it into apartments, filling a gap in Wayne’s housing needs and providing a unique option for high-end, modern living in downtown Wayne.
The new Sanctuary Apartments have undergone renovations to preserve the exterior of the building as it is repurposed into six apartment units: two 3-bedroom, two 2-bedroom, and two 1-bedroom units.
New modern finishes and lighting, such as cherry wood cabinets and globe pendants, blend with many of the original architectural details preserved in the building, including 37 original stained-glass windows kept throughout the units. The 3-bedroom units are in the old sanctuary of the church and feature 20-foot ceilings, two levels, and an open floor plan for the kitchen, dining and living spaces. The garden-level units feature tall ceilings up to 11 feet, providing a unique amount of natural light for this level.
The architect for this remodel is Roy Ley with Hoke Ley, an architecture and interior design firm in Lawrence, Kansas. Roy has already designed several buildings in Wayne, including State Nebraska Bank & Trust’s Main Branch in downtown Wayne and its SNBuilding at 1010 Main Street.
The general contractor is Otte Construction from Wayne, and local/regional subcontractors have been used as much as possible throughout construction to help support the northeast Nebraska economy.
The investors also purchased the church’s parsonage, a 3-bedroom home built in 1907 and it is now for sale.
For more information about the Sanctuary Apartments, the parsonage, or to make a reservation on one of the remaining apartment units, contact Matthew Ley at (402) 375-1130.
