breaking news

Springdale Congregation Losing Building for I-540 Interchange

By: Cassidy Hodges

Updated: December 3, 2012

A congregation in Springdale is being uprooted to make way for a new exit off Interstate 540.

City planners have been discussing an interchange on Don Tyson Parkway and I-540 for almost three years now.

Meanwhile Victory Church in Springdale, stuck in the mix, knowing they'll have to move, but with no money to make the transition, until the city pulls the trigger on the project.

"We've been in this building 19 and a half years," says Billy Coffman, the Senior Pastor of Victory Church in Springdale.

But in less than 30 days, this congregation has got to go.

"This just helps address that traffic congestion issue in the city," says Patsy Christie, the Planning and Community Development Division Director for the City of Springdale.

This is a new interchange drawn up right on top of Victory Church in Springdale.

"When you design a road it's got to go somewhere and everyone would rather it be in someone elses back yard, but you have to pick a location and move forward," says Christie.

So improving Don Tyson Parkway, comes with added cost.

"It's been very stressful because our people are wondering where do we go? We knew that a move was imminent, but our biggest problem was where do you go with a church," says Coffman.

Especially, when bills start piling up.

"We understand that the city can only do what it can do when it comes to their appraisals. If we only took the money that has been given, we couldn't survive. We're going to have to have more funds or the church will not be able to relocate," says Coffman.

But the City of Springdale is dealing with Uncle Sam on property appraisals

"The negotiation is pretty limited because we are building a federal facility," says Christie.

So the church rejected the offer to engage in a condemnation suit with the city, leaving the final price up the court.

"We're going to have to do whatever we have to do to get the money that is rightfully our, not so we can put something in the bank because that's not Victory. Victory has always been a giver to the community and to the world, the one thing we want to be able to do though is survive," says Coffman.

"That's what this process is for, and it's tough and it's always hard to do but it's part of the process of growth and expansion and addressing traffic congestion in Northwest Arkansas," says Christie.

And with eviction looming, the congregation of Victory Church is leaving the matter between the Lord and their Lawyer.

"It's going to take a lot of miracles for us to leave this place and just relocate ourselves," says Coffman.