Friendship Missionary Baptist Church is calling on its congregation and West Charlotte residents to help shape the long-term vision for “Friendship Village,” a planned development slated for church-owned land.
The prominent church, located along the Beatties Ford Road corridor near Interstate 85, launched an online and in-person survey to gather feedback on potential community uses for a 91-acre tract of land it controls.
In a social media announcement outlining the initiative, the church noted it is “prayerfully planning for the future” and seeking feedback on concepts spanning housing, economic development, healthcare, education and recreation. Early suggestions floated in an informational church video included senior housing, a commercial retail block, a grocery store, an expanded sportsplex, hospice care facilities and community park spaces.
In the video, the Rev. Dr. Clifford A. Jones Sr., the church’s senior pastor, noted that the project is the actualization of a vision first discussed in the late 1970s and early 1980s by his predecessor, the Rev. Colemon W. Kerry Jr., and early church leadership…